Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) signed more than $500 million of tax cuts into law Monday, totaling $2 billion in relief since he took office.
During his speech at a signing ceremony, Walker told the people of Wisconsin that he has made these large tax cuts to return the money to its rightful owners.
“Now, instead of billion dollar budget deficits, we have a surplus — and today that money is on its way to the workers, parents, seniors, property owners, veterans, job creators and others. You deserve to keep as much of your hard-earned money as possible — because after all, it is your money,” Walker said.
Senate Bill 1 will provide $504 million in tax cuts to Wisconsin taxpayers over the next two years by reducing income and property tax rates, and eliminating income tax rates for state manufacturers. The move continues the Wisconsin success story under Walker that has seen the state turn a $3.6 billion budget deficit into a surplus through cutting taxes and reforming state government.
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, congratulated Walker on signing the new tax provisions into law.
“Scott Walker inherited a state budget that falsely promised to spend more than Wisconsin citizens could afford,” Norquist said in a statement. “He avoided the ‘easy’ and traditional path of yet again raising taxes and slashing budgets across the board.
“Reducing the tax burden and reforming government to cost less is the path forward for Wisconsin and the nation.”
The Washington Examiner’s Philip Klein published an exclusive interview with Walker Monday, in which the Wisconsin governor said he will focus on his state’s fiscal successes in his battle for reelection this year.
“Are we going to go backward, or are we going to go forward? Our argument is going to be that we laid out a plan to move the state forward, we’ve moved the state forward, we took a major $3.6 billion deficit and turned it into a $1 billion surplus, we lowered taxes by $2 billion, we’ve seen the unemployment rate go down to the lowest it’s been in more than five years. … My argument is going to be, why would we want to mess with success?”
Read more of Klein’s piece here.
