Postcards promoting tax rebate cost state $128,000

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - Gov. Scott Walker's administration spent $128,000 on more than half a million postcards urging people to sign up for a new tax rebate — a move that has reignited the political debate over the tax break.

The expense is just one-tenth of 1 percent of the tax rebate's estimated $122 million cost, but liberal critics contend the postcard is the latest sign the tax break is aimed at boosting the GOP governor's re-election chances.

"There's no gimmick or giveaway Scott Walker won't try in his desperate bid to keep his job," said a statement from Mike Browne, deputy director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now. "There's also no line between his campaign and state government. In this latest instance, we find he's spending $128,000 in taxpayer funds for a mailing to supplement his political advertising."

Walker spokeswoman Amy Hasenberg dismissed the criticism.

"Only out-of-touch Madison liberals think returning a budget surplus to the hardworking taxpayers is a waste of money," she said in a statement. "Hardworking families across the state will benefit from this child tax rebate, and we encourage all who are eligible to claim it."

Walker signed the tax rebate legislation in April and has been promoting it in stops around the state. The measure provides $100 per child to Wisconsin residents who had a dependent child as of Dec. 31.

Walker's Department of Revenue sent 551,000 postcards to people who claimed a federal child tax credit in 2017 and, in some cases, 2016, according to agency spokeswoman Patty Mayers. Walker's name does not appear on the postcards.

The postcards tell people they can sign up for the rebate until July 2 at https://childtaxrebate.wi.gov or by calling (608) 266-5437.

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"Because people are not used to claiming it, we sent a postcard with information on how and where to make a claim," Mayers said by email.

A similar approach was taken in 1999, when Republican Tommy Thompson was governor and some taxpayers were mailed forms with instructions about how to get a tax rebate that was offered at the time, Mayers said.

This year, about 671,000 families with 1.22 million children are expected to file for the rebate, according to the Department of Revenue. More than 300,000 have signed up since the filing period began on May 15, according to the governor.

The tax break Walker signed also includes a sales tax holiday that will run Aug. 1 to 5. Together, the tax rebate and sales tax holiday will cost the state — and save taxpayers — about $137 million, with the vast majority of that attributed to the tax rebate.

The administrative costs for the measure come to about $506,000, including the $128,000 spent on postcards, according to the Department of Revenue.

Walker has given short shrift to Democratic opposition to the tax cuts.

"Only in Madison would they think giving taxpayers their money back is 'dirty.' We had a larger-than-expected surplus — even after record investments in schools & property tax relief," Walker tweeted on Sunday after the Wisconsin State Journal ran a story about Walker opponents who have mixed feelings about applying for the tax break.