Public Hearing on Republican Bill to Combat Wisconsin's Workforce Issue

Monday, February 5th, 2024 -- 12:00 PM

(Madison Lammert, Appleton-Post Crescent) A Republican-authored bill that its authors say would help tackle Wisconsin’s workforce issue by incentivizing employers to help their employees with child care drew praise from the business community and frustration from child care providers during a Senate committee hearing.

According to Madison Lammert with the Appleton-Post Crescent, the bill, which had a public hearing Wednesday, would give employers state tax credits for helping employees access and afford child care.

Under the bill, employers could claim up to $100,000 in state tax credits for costs associated with establishing a child care program to help its employees or contributing to a separate nonprofit to do so.

Proposed amendments could make it so they could contribute to any regulated child care program. Employers who operate a child care center for their employees could claim a state tax credit for expenses associated with operating the center.

They could claim up to $3,000 per employee's child served at the center. This could be in addition to a state tax credit claimed for capital expenditures. Employers partnering with another child care program could receive a state tax credit for subsidizing the cost of care, along with certain administrative costs associated with doing so.

To claim this credit, the employer would have to pay the same amount, if not more, as the employee pays for care. The total amount that an employer could claim for these expenses would be limited to $3,000 per child of participating employees.

This would be in addition to the state tax credit claimed for capital expenditures. In the original version of the bill, the tax credits were refundable, meaning if the credits were more than the employer owes in taxes, the employer would receive a refund of the difference.

The proposed Senate amendments would make the credits nonrefundable; employers could carry the difference forward as a credit that may be applied in future tax years.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.