The state’s economic development agency took another hit, with a report surfacing that the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC) gave out $21 million in tax credits it may not have had the legal authority to award.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the Legislative Fiscal Bureau’s findings were communicated to WEDC in a private Aug. 19 letter.
However, state attorneys from WEDC, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Administration counter the funds were not intentionally awarded in violation of the law. Instead they say the dispute is one of differing opinions about state law.
According to the Journal Sentinel, the fiscal bureau letter said WEDC had awarded $101.7 million in contracts, $21.3 million above its legal limit.
The Journal Sentinel reports it’s not yet known how much of the $21 million in disputed tax credits has actually been paid to companies or which companies received the awards, nor whether those contracts are enforceable.
