After hearing from constituents at my budget listening sessions, during phone calls and over email, it was clear that one of the people of Western Wisconsin's top priorities in this budget was to lower taxes. In fact, after reviewing the responses on my Spring Budget Survey, where I asked you what your priorities are, over half of respondents stated tax relief was a top priority.

Throughout my time in office, I have made reducing the tax burden for Wisconsinites a priority. Over the past 10 years, the legislature has passed budgets that have resulted in the median family paying 30 percent less in Wisconsin income taxes in 2019 compared to 2011. Also, over the last decade, the legislature has cut state and local taxes by over $13 billion with property tax relief totaling over $5 billion.

To start this budget cycle, the governor and the Democrat minority supported the 'Badger Bounce Backwards' plan that would have increased taxes by $1 billion and expanded the Madison bureaucracy. Instead, I worked with my colleagues to make sure that more money was staying in your pockets. In the end, the governor decided to sign the Republican majority’s budget that provides major tax relief for Wisconsinites.

The legislative budget that became law provides $650 million in new property tax relief, $2 billion in income tax relief and gives Wisconsinites an overall tax cut that totals over $3.4 billion. This means that the typical Wisconsin family can expect to save roughly $1,200 in income and property tax relief over the next two years.

Unfortunately, the governor decided to use his lineitem veto power to further delay when you will receive your tax relief. The original budget would have allowed people to receive the tax cut immediately in their paychecks, but because of the governor's line-item veto, you will not be able to receive your tax cut until you file your taxes next April. It's frustrating that the governor feels that Madison bureaucrats, and not you, should be holding onto your hard-earned dollars.

Additionally, the governor vetoed significant tax relief for our local business owners as they continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The personal property tax is an antiquated and complicated tax. By not ending this tax, the governor is not listening to the needs of Wisconsin business owners and is failing to support small business owners who are working diligently to get back up and running at full capacity. With this veto, personal property taxes will remain another obstacle, which could have easily been eliminated, that small businesses need to overcome to keep their doors open.

Giving you your money back is an incredibly important aspect of our state’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. As families and communities as a whole continue to reintegrate themselves into the workforce, get their businesses back up and running at full capacity, and spend more time out and about in the community, we must not impose unnecessary financial burdens during this recovery process. I believe that hard-working Wisconsin people know best how to spend their money, not Madison bureaucrats, and we should be supporting our citizens as we continue to recover.