Wisconsin Assembly Approves Tax Cut on Pandemic Relief Loans

Wednesday, February 17th, 2021 -- 9:04 AM

(AP) The Wisconsin Assembly overwhelmingly approved a half-billion dollar tax cut Tuesday for businesses that received federal pandemic relief loans to keep employees on the payroll, a move that stands to benefit at least a handful of legislators whose businesses accepted the money.

The bill would make loans administered through the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program tax deductible under Wisconsin’s tax code. The loans are already tax deductible under federal law but not under the state code. Legislative fiscal analysts estimate the deductions will result in the loss of $540 million in state revenue by the middle of 2023.

Democrats spent nearly three hours complaining about the bill, arguing it was rushed, the tax cuts will translate to lost state revenue and large-scale businesses that got bigger loans will reap more benefits than local small businesses.

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