MADISON, Wis. — Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said in a one-on-one interview with News 3 Now that he expects some form of tax breaks this upcoming legislative session.
This comes as Republicans have floated the idea of a flat tax, which Democratic Gov. Tony Evers says he would reject.
“I heard Governor Evers say he’s probably not going to support that, so I’m not going to waste a lot of time on negotiating something that’s not likely,” Vos said, “but the idea of having a tax cut that’s at least, if not significantly bigger, than the last tax cut should be something we can all agree on.”
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Vos said revisiting the state’s tax structure is key to attracting people to live and work in Wisconsin, and crucial to keep Wisconsin competitive compared to neighboring states.
“I want when somebody decides to retire, and they have a little bit of money saved up for their retirement, but they can’t figure out if they should be in Tennessee, Texas, or Arizona or Florida because the taxes are cheaper,” Vos said.
Republicans are largely in the driver’s seat getting to write the budget, while Evers can veto specific parts of the budget the Legislature sends him. Vos, however, came close this past election to capturing a veto-proof majority in the Assembly. If he flips a few Democrats, he could capture that majority.
“Many of the [Democrats] who are left come from kind of a hardcore Dem area,” Vos said. “So I think it’s unlikely but it’s not impossible, but I think it’s unlikely that they would break with their party.”
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Vos has faced dissension in his own party, however. Rep. Janel Brandtjen joined former President Donald Trump in backing Vos’ primary opponent in August.
“What I’ve learned about politics is that there are people who bluster a lot and there are people who actually want to accomplish things,” Vos said.
He added that he does not think there is much of an appetite for that kind of rhetoric anymore.
“I think Representative Brandtjen has clearly put herself in the bombastic Trump style, not a lot of accomplishments and Madison, an awful lot of bluster,” he said.
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