A new bill proposed Wednesday would increase funding for Wisconsin's technical schools by raising income taxes for Wisconsin's wealthiest, prompting further discourse over the state's fiscal future.
State Rep. Cory Mason, D-Racine, and state Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, the authors of the bill, said the Wisconsin Jobs Initiative aims to replace the $34.2 million cut from Wisconsin Technical Colleges' biennial budget to fund grants that would educate at least 35,000 students at technical colleges statewide.
Mason and Larson proposed to raise the top income tax rate from 7.75 percent to 8.75 percent for people making more than $1 million a year to fund the initiative. The estimated 2,900 Wisconsin taxpayers who would be impacted by this tax increase would generate at least $70 million in new revenue in its first year, according to Larson.
Larson emphasized the need for ""shared sacrifice"" to take the financial burden off of those with lower incomes.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said he strongly doubts the bill will gain bipartisan support because it raises taxes.
""We don't think higher taxes on anyone is the right answer,"" Fitzgerald said. ""More tax hikes and more spending is a road we've been down before, and it didn't work.""
If it does pass, Larson said each technical college would decide where among their own programs to allocate the grants.
Wisconsin Technical Colleges System President Dan Clancy said the bill would allow Wisconsin's technical colleges to ""educate more highly-skilled
workers in industries that will create and sustain jobs.""
""Skill acquisition is one of the biggest challenges facing workers and employers in today's high-tech and fast-changing economy,"" Clancy said in a statement.
Mason and Larson introduced the bill a week after Gov. Scott Walker called a special legislative session focused on job creation.
