Wisconsin Governor-elect Scott Walker promises he will be an advocate for businesses and will get to work on an agenda to create jobs immediately after his inauguration. He has pledged to help create 250,000 jobs in the state during his first term in office.
“My first act as your new governor, after we take the oath of office, is to literally go back to the governor’s office and declare an economic emergency and in turn call a special session to bring the Legislature in to work on an agenda that creates jobs,” he said during his election night victory speech.
In an interview with BizTimes Milwaukee a few days after his election, Walker elaborated on his job creation plans.
Walker said one of the first things he wants to do is cut the individual income tax rate by one percentage point for small business owners whose companies have 50 employees or less. That creates a tax break for small business owners who pay their business taxes on their individual income taxes and not in corporate taxes.
Walker said helping small business owners is important because, “Eighty percent of new jobs are created by small businesses.”
However, Walker wants to provide tax relief for more than just small business owners.
“Eventually, we want to push tax cuts for everybody,” he said.
Walker also said a top priority will be to repeal the state tax on health savings accounts.
“HSAs help small business owners and farmers pay for health insurance for their employees,” he said.
Walker said he plans to reform the state’s regulatory and litigation environment for businesses.
He also wants to reform the state Department of Commerce. Walker said business regulatory duties that the Department of Commerce currently handles should be shifted to other departments. The Department of Commerce should focus entirely on job creation and economic development, Walker said.
In some cases, the state should still provide incentive packages to attract or retain businesses, and to help them grow, Walker said.
In addition to Walker’s election, the Republicans also are taking control of the state Assembly and state Senate. The GOP-controlled, business-friendly Legislature should provide Walker with little resistance to forwarding his agenda. That will be a big change for Walker, who has clashed frequently with the Milwaukee County Board during his tenure as Milwaukee County executive.
“It will be a night-and-day difference,” Walker said. “Having people who are on the same page as I am will be tremendously helpful.”
Walker also said he has taken note of the election results in Illinois, where Democrats retained control of the state Legislature and Democratic Governor Pat Quinn was re-elected in a close race, and in Minnesota, where Republicans took control of the state Legislature but Democrat Mark Dayton was elected governor by a razor-thin margin, subject to a recount.
Walker said the pro-business policies that he and the GOP-controlled Wisconsin state Legislature plan to enact will help convince businesses in Illinois and Minnesota to move to Wisconsin.
“There is no doubt if Quinn stays in I will try to attract a lot of business from Illinois,” Walker said.
Walker said he plans to meet with the CEO of a company in St. Paul, Minn., that was concerned about a Democrat being elected governor there and might want to move his company to Wisconsin.
Wisconsin’s troubled economy was a major theme of Walker’s campaign. Once he was elected, he adopted a new theme, “Wisconsin is open for business.”
The number of Wisconsin residents receiving unemployment insurance recently dropped to a two-year low, and the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 7.8 percent in September was below the national rate of 9.6 percent, according to U.S. Department of Labor. Wisconsin’s unemployment rate has consistently been below the national average.
“I think we are sending a clear message to business that not only is the government no longer going to be an obstacle for them, the government is going to help them,” Walker said.
