The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) called this week’s legislative action to double funding for the state’s Jobs Tax Credit a “great example of putting partisanship aside and putting jobs first” in Wisconsin.”
“Creating jobs should not be a partisan issue,” said MMAC president Tim Sheehy. “Both houses of the legislature overwhelmingly agreeing to strengthen the Job Tax Credit today is a great example of putting partisanship aside and putting jobs first here in Wisconsin.”
The Wisconsin Jobs Tax Credit (WJTC) authorizes the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to offer companies a credit equal to 10 percent of payroll for 10 years for new jobs created in Wisconsin. It is an incentive tool that only “pays out” upon the delivery of new jobs here in Wisconsin, Sheehy said.
According to Sheehy, the credit has already been a highly effective tool for attracting corporate investment to the metro Milwaukee region. Spain-based Ingeteam selected Milwaukee over Grand Rapids, Mich., for its first U.S. production facility, largely due to the $4 million of WJTCs offered by Wisconsin (275 jobs). The program was also used to land Italian packaging manufacturer SEDA in Mt. Pleasant in 2010 (189 jobs), helping Wisconsin beat-out Pennsylvania.
And last week, the WJTC program was deployed to secure the consolidation of Bostik’s research and development and corporate headquarters operations from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania to the company’s facility in Wauwatosa (76 jobs).
The legislation that passed (32-1 in the state Senate and 95-2 in the state Assembly) will double state funding for this credit, from a cap of $5 million a year to $10 million a year.
The measure strengthening the credit was authored by state Representative Mary Williams (R-Medford) and state Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills).
“This is a program that funds results, not wishes,” said Sheehy. “It has been a great tool for us to use to attract jobs to the region already, and the bi-partisan action to double its funding will make it an even stronger and more versatile arrow in our quiver when we go hunting for new jobs and investment in Wisconsin.”
The MMAC represents more than 1600 member businesses employing nearly half a million workers in the metropolitan Milwaukee region. The MMAC is also a founding partner of the Milwaukee 7 regional economic development organization.
– BizTimes Milwaukee
