Companies moving out of Wisconsin shouldn’t get tax breaks for doing so

It turns out our lawmakers can agree on something. Wisconsin lawmakers from both political parties have worked together to pass what they called commonsense legislation. Members of the State Assembly voted overwhelmingly this week to eliminate a tax loophole that allows companies to deduct from their taxes the cost of moving expenses when they move their operations elsewhere, even to another state. Last year, more than 8400 Wisconsinites got notice that their job was being eliminated due to a facility closure or workforce reduction. Some of those companies, after leaving their Wisconsin operation vacant, moved their business to another state. And under current Wisconsin law, those businesses which left Wisconsin in their rear view mirror still got a tax break. It is estimated these tax deductions cost state taxpayers $500,000 a year. We shouldn’t be providing incentives for Wisconsin businesses to pack up and leave the state. Lawmakers from both parties issued news releases patting themselves on the back for working together to close this tax loophole. It is, as supporters argue, commonsense legislation. The question then is how did giving incentives to companies leaving the Badger state ever become part of our tax code, and what took them so long to fix it?