Group Blasts Walker Tax Credit, WMC Says it's a Job Creator

WISCONSIN - A new report released by the Wisconsin Budget Project takes aim at a popular tax credit, calling it a "runaway tax cut" that has resulted in "enormous tax breaks for the very wealthiest" Wisconsin businesses.

According to the report, the Manufacturing and Agriculture Credit nearly wipes out state income tax liability for manufacturers and agricultural producers in Wisconsin, with most of the money winding up in the pockets of millionaires.

Tax filers with incomes of $1 million and more – a group that makes up just 0.2% of all filers – claim a remarkable 78% of the credit amount that is paid through the individual income tax, the Wisconsin Budget Project has said.

The Manufacture and Agriculture Credit:

According to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, the manufacturing and agriculture credit is available to claimants that derive qualified production activities income from property located in Wisconsin that is assessed as either manufacturing or agricultural.

Proponents of the credit said it was necessary to boost business production for those operating in Wisconsin and said it would end up serving as an important job-creator in the state.

The credit drew sharp criticism from opponents, who said the credit allowed a factory owner to pay a lower tax rate than a Taco Bell employee.

Report Blasted by WMC

The Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce organization blasted the report, saying that the Wisconsin Budget Project issued a politically biased flawed statement about the Manufacturing & Agriculture Tax Credit.

The WMC stays that the Wisconsin Budget Project's study was intended to undermine the tax relief that led to 34,000 new manufacturing jobs, WMC said Wednesday.

"The reality is that since this tax credit was enacted in 2011, Wisconsin has grown the fifth-most manufacturing jobs in the country, WMC Senior Vice President of Government Relations Scott Manley said in a prepared statement.

Official Jobs Numbers

Employement numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released in early June shows Wisconsin ranked 36th nationally in private-sector job creation for 2015. In the first five years of Walker as governor, the state has added just over 168,000 jobs. He promised to add 250,000 jobs in four years,according to a WISN report.