Wisconsin Republicans laid out four bills that they say will cut taxes for the middle class.
Each bill targets a particular category. One creates a new exemption for retirement income and would apply to up to $75,000 per filer and $150,000 per couple. That average tax cut per filer would amount to $1,582.
The other bills would expand credits for married couples, as well as, child and dependent care. Another bill would increase the upper-income threshold for the second tax bracket which lawmakers state would result in an average tax cut of $454.
"Can we afford this? We did get a memo from the Fiscal Bureau that shows if we would implement all this, we would still have about $1.5 billion left in our general fund. So we believe that this is affordable and sustainable," said State Representative Terry Katsma from Oostburg.
Rick Smart and his wife are both retired. He says they are in a good place financially, but the proposed retirement income exemption could help them grow their savings.
"We may need it down the road for medical reasons or relocation," Smart explained.
"I live in the 53206 neighborhood so it's horrible to pay the high taxes," Antonio Fizer said.
Fizer is most interested in efforts to expand the marriage and childcare tax credits. He says he would put that extra money towards his community and his kids.
"Just better schooling, more activities like after-school activities. That's one thing that our community lacks," Fizer stated.
Some people say knowing how Wisconsin politics works they are going to wait and see how these measures shake out.
"I just kind of keep my eye on what's going on in the legislative area and try to figure out where to go from there," Kelly Duggan said.
"I don't see why we need a surplus there. Let's dole it back out to the people that paid it," Smart added.
Lawmakers plan to introduce the bills next week.
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