GOP legislative leaders, who have pledged to pass a tax cut before taking up the budget, have held off introducing a plan after talks with Gov. Tony Evers on a possible compromise, according to multiple GOP sources.
Sources first told WisPolitics earlier this week that Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu relayed to his caucus the delay was a sign of good faith as those talks continue.
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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos then confirmed yesterday the talks were behind the delay, recounting to WisPolitics his experience of watching Evers take credit for signing some GOP tax cuts, but vetoing others.
“If we want to get one signed this time after watching what occurred before, we can certainly draw a contrast, but I prefer to get a bill signed by the governor,” the Rochester Republican said. “We are hoping to see if there’s some kind of middle ground between where the governor would like to reduce taxes and where we’d like to reduce taxes. But let’s hope we can find one.”
An Evers spokesperson said the guv met with LeMahieu and Vos in person on March 26 in Evers’ office. That meeting alone is news; the guv’s office believed Evers hadn’t met in person with either legislative leader since 2023 as a shared revenue package was hammered out ahead of the budget.
Spokesperson Britt Cudaback said the three last month agreed to move forward with staff-level conversations on “potential areas of consensus” and no additional meetings between the guv and GOP leaders had been scheduled. She didn’t provide any details on the topics discussed during the meeting.
“The conversation was productive,” Cudaback said, adding the staff conversations are expected to continue in the coming weeks.
With the state expected to finish the fiscal year with a $4.3 billion surplus, GOP lawmakers have said they would pass a tax cut before taking up the state budget in an attempt to pin down Evers on what he would accept before they’d consider any spending increases. During an early March interview with WISN-AM radio, Vos said a GOP tax plan would be out within a week to 10 days.
Republicans in the past have also often used the tax filing deadline of April 15 as a peg for a news conference to announce proposed reductions. When that date passed this week with no GOP plan publicly introduced, it prompted questions about what was behind the delay.
Vos acknowledged yesterday the two GOP caucuses also haven’t reached consensus on a tax plan.
LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, said in a December interview with WisPolitics that he wanted to focus on reducing the state’s second-highest tax bracket, which is now at 5.3% and covers income between $38,190 and $420,420 for married joint filers. Meanwhile, Vos said that same month that he preferred to focus on a tax cut on retirement income.
Vos said yesterday Assembly Republicans continue to be focused on retirement income and “Senate Republicans have what they prefer.”
A LeMahieu spokesperson declined comment other than to confirm meeting with Evers and Vos last month, adding: “Conversations are ongoing at the staff level.”
According to the GOP sources, LeMahieu told his members the guv’s position in the March 26 meeting was surprisingly “reasonable.”
