Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu
Every year people gather their income tax documents and either visit their favorite tax professional or file them at home.
Either way, tax season can be rather stressful. We spoke with Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, who has crafted a bill that would introduce a flat tax to the state of Wisconsin.
The Republican from Oostburg explained that under the current system, “We have four different income tax rates starting at 3.54% on the low end and moving up to 7.65% on the high end for people who are higher income earners.”
He says the flat tax would do away with the different levels, noting “Regardless of how much money you make, you pay the same percentage of your income to the state government.”
Wisconsin is not alone in its tax reform discussions.
“A lot of states have been moving toward either eliminating their income tax, such as Tennessee, (which) recently eliminated their income tax by increasing their sales tax a couple percentage points, but a lot of states have gone to or are moving to a lower flat tax,” LeMahieu explained.
In fact, two of our neighboring states have already implemented such a system, and another is working towards having a flat tax.
The Senator noted that “Michigan’s is 4.25%, Illinois’ is around 5% and Iowa is moving to a 3.9% flat tax.”
Senator LeMahieu also told us that Minnesota currently has a progressive system like Wisconsin’s, and revealed that “If you look across the country between New York and California, there is only one state that has a higher top income tax rate than Wisconsin has, and that is Minnesota.”
You can hear the full interview by clicking on the Be My Guest tab at WOMTRadio.com/Podcasts.
