Retiring Republican Sen. Steve Nass is blasting a property tax compromise Governor Tony Evers reached with the GOP’s legislative leadership, calling it a “closed-door deal with Speaker Robin Vos to spend $1.8 billion using projected revenues that have not even been collected yet.”
“Once again, Governor Evers and Speaker Vos have cut a closed-door deal to spend more than $1.8 billion using projected state revenues that might be collected by the end of the biennium on June 30, 2027,” Nass said in a news release. “I have confirmed with the Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) that the $2.3 billion projected closing balance would be one-time dollars accounted for on June 30, 2027.
“Prior to potential passage of Evers-Vos II, the state is already looking at a structural deficit of $580 million in the next biennium even if all $2.3 billion shows up by June 30, 2027. If Evers-Vos II were to become law, it could increase the starting structural deficit in 2027-29 biennium to in excess of $1 billion.”
Earlier Monday, Evers announced a deal that will provide $600 rebate checks to property taxpayers, enact no state income tax on tips and overtime wages, and spend upwards of $600 million on special education.
“It appears Evers gets a big win by getting Republicans to agree on a large infusion of cash to education, but there are no binding reforms to address the increasingly poor performance in math and reading by students statewide,” Nass added. “And more shockingly, it looks as though Evers 400-year veto increasing property taxes annually remains in state law.”
There is, in fact, no provision in the announced deal that would rescind Governor Evers’ partial veto, which is widely blamed for the massive spike in property tax rates this winter.
