A bipartisan effort to eliminate the tax Wisconsin businesses pay on property gained momentum Wednesday, as a bill to end the tax cleared the Joint Finance Committee and another panel, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Republicans, who control both houses of the Wisconsin Legislature, proposed eliminating the tax, which was created 170 years ago, and included $202 million in the state budget proposal to pay for it. Following its advance on Wednesday, the full Legislature is expected to vote next week on both the property tax measure and the state budget. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has not yet indicated whether he will sign or veto the bill.
While some Democratic lawmakers support the bill, Democrats who voted against the measure expressed concern that funding set aside to replace the lost property tax dollars would be held by the budget committee rather than returned to local governments. The measure is supported by business groups such as the National Federation of Independent Business and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce.
