Wisconsin's two-year budget is in the books, but the battle over who did what is not.
PolitiFact Wisconsin looks at claims over raising taxes and cutting taxes.
"State Senator Alberta Darling, a Republican from River Hills, recently said that in the budget Gov. Evers sent to the legislature, he wanted to increase taxes by $1 billion, and that Republicans stopped him and instead delivered the largest tax cut in state history," said Greg Borowski with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Two big claims with big numbers.
Let's start with the first. PolitiFact Wisconsin says Gov. Evers' budget did include a $1 billion tax increase.
"Now to be sure, there were some cuts in there for the middle class, in the lower class, but on a net basis, it was a $1 billion increase," Borowski said. "At the same time, once the legislature passed the budget, it had $2 billion in tax cuts and that is the largest in state history."
Now let's look at that second claim of the largest tax cut in state history.
PolitiFact Wisconsin points out that the state's financial situation dramatically improved during the budget process. Lawmakers found out Wisconsin would take in an additional $4.4 billion in tax collections than expected.
"And that gave the Republicans a lot more room to deliver a tax cut," said Borowski. "And to do so without having to cut services and other funding for government."
PolitiFact Wisconsin rated Senator Darling's claim Mostly True.
The PolitiFact Wisconsin team looks into claims from our elected officials every week.
