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Does Wisconsin have a projected $5 billion surplus?

By Hope Karnopp
YES

The state Department of Revenue estimated in August that Wisconsin will have a $5 billion surplus by July 2023, the start of a new fiscal year.

In October, the Wisconsin Department of Administration reported that the state had ended the 2022 fiscal year with a balance of $4.3 billion. Wisconsin's "rainy day" fund sat at $1.73 billion —the largest balances in state history.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the Republican-controlled state Legislature are debating how to use the surplus in the next two-year budget.

Evers' plan includes a 10% income tax cut for households earning $150,000 or less, capping co-pays for insulin and putting $2 billion toward public education.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said Republicans want to expand school choice and extend tax cuts to include wealthier Wisconsinites. Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told Fox6, "We should return as much as we can back to the taxpayers."

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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