New Flat Tax Proposal

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) introduced flat tax legislation that aims to produce long-term economic growth and opportunity. LeMahieu’s proposal reduces taxes for all taxpayers with the goal of being beneficial for almost all businesses, 95% of which are taxed on their owners’ personal returns. The state’s top rate of 7.65% is now the highest individual income tax rate of any state, save one, between New York and California.

A memo Friday from LeMahieu and Rep. Rob Brooks (R-Saukville), pointed out, citing the Badger Institute’s “Mandate for Madison,” that this rate makes Wisconsin’s tax code “uncompetitive and mediocre.”

Reductions to Wisconsin’s top marginal individual income tax rate would be a “game changer for many of the state’s small businesses,” wrote the Tax Foundation’s Katherine Loughead in Tax Reform Options to Improve Wisconsin’s Competitiveness.  Research is clear that single-rate taxes are linked to stronger wage growth and a more robust economy.

Stay tuned to see what happens in the legislation and how this may impact you!