Economic Justice

In Governor’s Budget, Tax Cuts Go Mostly to People with Lowest Incomes

by wbpadmin

April 5, 2021 — Governor Evers’ proposed budget includes changes that would reshape Wisconsin’s tax code to give less of an advantage to wealthy and powerful interests, by reining in wasteful tax breaks for the rich and redirecting some of the benefits to the middle class and people with low incomes.

State tax policies can be a powerful tool for expanding opportunity and enhancing racial equity. But Wisconsin’s tax system is a major driver of economic inequality and contributes to the increasing concentration of income and wealth in a few hands —hands that are most likely to be white, due to a long history of racial discrimination.

Wisconsin Should Help Small Businesses with Targeted Grants, Not PPP Double-Dipping

by wbpadmin

February 15, 2021 — Wisconsin state lawmakers are rushing to pass a new tax break for businesses, with a minimum of opportunities for public input. The tax cut would significantly reduce the amount of resources Wisconsin has to invest in families, schools, and communities that have been battered by the pandemic and the recession, and it would fail to help many small businesses who are the intended beneficiaries.

Wisconsin’s Property Tax Code, Which Never Mentions Race, is Slanted in Favor of White Wisconsinites

by wbpadmin

November 12, 2020 — Our state and local tax code does not mention race. And yet it systematically demands that people of color pay a higher share of their income in taxes than white residents, showing that policies don’t have to explicitly mention race in order to have racially discriminatory consequences. The myth that the tax code “doesn’t see color” allows us to dismiss the role that tax policies have played in creating Wisconsin’s enormous racial disparities.

Latina Women Have to Work Ten Months into 2020 to be Paid the Same as White Men in 2019

by wbpadmin

October 28, 2020 — This week marks Latina Equal Pay Day, which signifies how long a Latina woman has to work into 2020 to bring her 2019-20 earnings to the same amount a White man made in 2019. Latina Women’s Equal Pay Day is half a year later than National Equal Pay Day, which falls in April and is the date in 2020 when women overall matched the earnings of men in 2019. That’s because Latina women and other women of color earn less than White women, widening the earnings gap even further compared to White men.

Wisconsin’s Tax Code Includes Loopholes that Let the Wealthy Dodge Taxes, as Trump Did at the Federal Level

by wbpadmin

October 1, 2020 — The disclosure that President Trump pays next to nothing in income taxes has highlighted the fact that the federal tax system is stuffed full of loopholes that are only available to the ultra-wealthy. But you don’t have to look to the federal system to find a tax code tilted in favor of the rich and powerful. Wisconsin’s own state and local tax system is also loaded up with a collection of special-interest tax breaks that siphons revenue away from where it is needed most. The Wisconsin tax code is a major driver of economic inequality, and contributes to the increasing concentration of income and wealth in a few hands — hands that are most likely to be white, due to a long history of racial discrimination.

A Few Weeks of Supplemental Unemployment Assistance Is No Substitute for Congressional Action

by wbpadmin

September 1, 2020 — Wisconsin has applied for the supplemental federal unemployment benefit recently authorized by executive actions taken by President Trump. Although the $300 per week supplemental payments will briefly provide some financial relief for thousands of Wisconsin families once the new program goes into effect, it will fall far short of the larger and longer-term supplemental assistance that expired in late July.

Black Women Have to Work 8 months into 2020 to be Paid the Same as White Men in 2019

by wbpadmin

August 14, 2020 — This week marked Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, which signifies how long a Black woman has to work into 2020 to bring her 2019-20 earnings to the same amount a White man made in 2019.Black Women’s Equal Pay Day is months later than National Equal Pay Day, which falls in April and is the date in 2020 when women overall matched the earnings of men in 2019. That’s because Black women and other women of color earn less than White women, widening the earnings gap even further compared to White men.

Amend the CARES Act So More Parents Receive Stimulus Checks

by wbpadmin

April 15, 2020 — The recently developed federal stimulus package known as the CARES Act put in place an unprecedented amount of financial support for many workers who filed taxes in the United States. However, some groups have been excluded from this stimulus effort and others will have to jump through extra hoops to receive their benefit. For example, lawmakers completely excluded immigrant workers without Social Security numbers — and their families — from receiving the benefit, and they also put administrative hurdles in the way of those who did not file taxes in recent years. Another group of people that will be denied full stimulus payments are parents, specifically parents who owe the government for child support.

An Inclusive Approach to Undocumented Immigrants Can Help Wisconsin Prosper

by wbpadmin

August 23, 2019 — Undocumented immigrants come to Wisconsin in search of opportunity, looking for safe communities for themselves and their families. In return, they benefit our communities by bringing cultural and economic vibrancy, entrepreneurship, and an expanded workforce for some of the state’s most critical industries. Wisconsin lawmakers should implement policies that promote prosperity for immigrants who are undocumented, their families, and the communities that welcome them.

Missing Out: Residents with Low Incomes Pay More Under New Budget

by wbpadmin

July 24, 2019 — State tax policies can be a powerful tool for expanding opportunity and enhancing racial and ethnic equity. But right now, Wisconsin’s tax system calls on the richest residents to pay the smallest share of their income in taxes and requires residents with low and moderate incomes to pay more than their fair share. The legislature rejected Governor Evers’ proposed tax changes in his 2019-21 budget plan that would have reshaped Wisconsin’s tax code to give less of an advantage to the wealthy, by reining in tax breaks for the rich and redirecting the benefits to the middle class and people with low incomes.