January 24, 2008

Working to Spark Wisconsin’s Economy

At the State Capitol, jobs and the economy are the main topics of discussion these days.  People throughout Wisconsin and the country are understandably anxious about the state of the economy.  To help Wisconsin weather the national economic slowdown, Senate Republicans have introduced a solid job-creation plan.

The plan’s name is “Invest Wisconsin 2.0” and it contains a lot of good ideas that will help spark Wisconsin’s economy.  In fact, many of the ideas are so good that Governor Doyle borrowed a few of them during his recent State of the State address.

The first part of our economic development agenda is a 1% income tax cut.  Time and time again, it has been proven that good things happen for jobs and the economy when taxpayers are allowed to keep more of what they earn.

Other parts of our plan would give Wisconsin businesses a cash infusion so they can expand, retool and innovate.  One of our ideas is to give investors a tax break on capital gains taxes, provided these profits are reinvested in Wisconsin companies.  Another idea is to expand and improve the Angel Investment Tax Credit, which helps new Wisconsin businesses get off the ground.  The more we can do to help our home-grown businesses compete and win against their competitors in other states and other countries, the better.

Another good idea is the Education Tax Credit, which provides tax incentives to employers for paying for their employees to go to college or tech school.  We also need to improve Wisconsin’s litigation climate and repair our state’s reputation as being a place with a sometimes-hostile legal environment.

The good news is that Republican state legislators and the Democrat Governor appear to be on the same page when it comes to making Wisconsin a better place for jobs.  The bad news is that legislative Democrats have been lukewarm to our proposals.  The Democrats’ ideas for “helping” our economy center around tax increases and government mandates.

While I think Senate Republicans have a great plan to improve our economy, I am always interested in hearing your ideas.  Feel free to contact me any time.