Wisconsin still has no plans to spend record surplus

What would you do if you had billions in your bank account? For the state of Wisconsin, the answer is nothing. The state’s coffers are more full than ever before. The state surplus is now estimated at $4.3 billion, a record amount. That’s $1.5 billion more than projected just nine months ago. The savings are swelling because of decreased state spending and higher tax collections. So you could argue we have been overtaxed. The money actually belongs to us. But our lawmakers are in no hurry to give it back, or do anything with it. This money could be used to provide rebates to taxpayers, like they have already done in Minnesota. In fact, 17 states with swollen bank accounts thanks in part to federal pandemic relief money, have returned money to taxpayers in some form. But Wisconsin lawmakers haven’t even met to discuss what to do with it. That is because our elected members of the State Legislature are in the middle of their ten-month break, with no plans to return to Madison. When the Governor called them back to discuss his proposal to provide a state income tax credit of an average of $221 to each eligible taxpayer, lawmakers dismissed the idea. But they don’t seem eager to come up with their own plan. If our lawmakers in Wisconsin really want to help battle inflation, they would get to work and stop sitting on this big pile of money and give some of it back.