News
January 22, 2025 | By Benjamin Yount
Policy Issues
Economy

Republicans Don’t Expect Much from Evers’ 2025 State of the State

Evers’ tax cuts, however, were limited to families making a combined $36,840 or less. He vetoed tax cuts for anyone making more than $36,840.

Republicans Await the State of the State Address

The expectations for Gov. Tony Evers’ latest State of the State speech are not high at the Wisconsin Capitol.

Republicans are waiting to see just what the governor will propose in his speech Wednesday night, but some say they’ve seen it all before.

State Rep. Ron Tusler, R-Harrison, said the governor has used his past speeches to ask for a lot of things that Republican lawmakers have already said ‘No’ to.

“He’s proposed the largest spending budgets in WI history & VETOED billions in tax cuts, THREE times!,” Tusler said on Twitter. “Gov. Evers did this same routine last year, he's a DEM who acts like a Republican for a night bc our policies work!”

Tusler then quoted the governor from 2023 and 2024 when he promised tax cuts.

“Cutting taxes is part of our agenda,” Evers said in January of 2023.

“I am in favor of making sure taxpayers are taken care of,” Evers then said again in February of last year. “It has to be targeted to the middle class.”

Tusler then pointed out that Evers vetoed tax cuts in both 2023 and 2024.

Evers will talk about tax cuts once again during his speech tonight.

“Cutting taxes has been a bipartisan priority over the last six years,” Evers said in a pre-released piece of his speech. “I have proposed middle-class tax cuts in every budget I have introduced as governor. And the Legislature sent me back some proposals I agreed with, including one of the largest tax cuts in state history. All told, through the income tax cuts I’ve signed into law, most Wisconsinites have seen a 15 percent income tax cut or more, and folks will see $1.5 billion in tax relief each year, primarily targeted to the middle class.”

Evers’ tax cuts, however, were limited to families making a combined $36,840 or less. He vetoed tax cuts for anyone making more than $36,840.

This year’s tax cut battle at the Wisconsin Capitol will largely focus on the state’s $4 billion surplus.

Republicans have been clear they want to return that money to the taxpayers. Evers has suggested several ways he wants to spend it.

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