Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

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Walker: ‘Plenty of time’ for Senate to pass tax cuts

Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday there is no rush for the Senate to pass his “Blueprint for Prosperity” plan that the Assembly approved Tuesday.

The plan’s $505 million in property and income tax cuts passed the state Assembly on a 62-37 vote, with two Democrats voting with Republicans.

The plan is headed to the Senate, where Republican Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, has said he does not have the votes to pass the proposal as written because of some members’ concerns with the projected $807 million structural deficit heading into the next budget. At a speech in the Governor’s Economic Development Conference, Walker said he isn’t concerned about the structural deficit, as that projection does not include revenue growth for the state prior to the next budget.

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Walker told reporters after his speech there is “plenty of time” for the Senate to work on a final proposal, as long as he signs the proposal into law by the time the legislative session is over.

The Assembly passed the special session bill on Tuesday that would use the state’s projected $1 billion surplus to cut income and property taxes and deposit $117 million into the state’s rainy day fund.

“As I travel our state, people aren’t telling me they pay too little in taxes. In fact, most people I talk to think the tax burden is too high, which is why our plan returns the vast majority of the budget surplus to its rightful owners: the hardworking taxpayers of Wisconsin,” Walker said in a statement.

The Assembly also passed two other special session bills Walker called for, one that would allot $35 million for workforce development and another that set aside $43 million for new highway projects.

But a Democratic proposal, which would have used more of the money on job training and reducing property taxes, failed.

Two Democrats voted for the Assembly tax cut plan, Rep. Stephen Smith, D-Shell Lake, and Rep. Amy Sue Vruwink, D-Milladore, both of whom do not represent strong Democratic districts.

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