Guest Column: Toward a More Prosperous Wisconsin

By State Representative Rick Gundrum 

In the new 2023-24 legislative session, I have the honor of chairing the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economy and Small Business Development. Strong economic development is the key toward a more prosperous Wisconsin. The committee began the new session by holding informational hearings to learn what we as legislators can do to help business leaders in this state. These are the top four issues that came from those hearings:

• Reduce regulatory burdens – Wisconsin continues to have some of the most restrictive regulations for businesses in the country.  Every dollar spent by a business on expensive, complicated and burdensome regulations is a dollar that can’t be spent on increasing wages, expanding workforce or growing business.
• Defend the Manufacturing and Agriculture Tax Credit – Many  businesses  rely on the MAC for their financial health. It was a mistake for Governor Tony Evers to limit the manufacturing portion of the MAC in his budget proposal. Tax credits are necessary to help with economic growth in all sectors of Wisconsin’s economy.
• Repeal Wisconsin’s personal property tax – This antiquated tax has been on the books way too long. Removal of this unfair tax will eliminate financial burdens on job creators and spur economic growth.
• Make investments in infrastructure – A more prosperous Wisconsin depends on a safe, robust, and reliable transportation infrastructure.  Continued investment is necessary.

The Wisconsin Legislature has already started addressing some of these concerns, and we will continue to focus on workforce development policy solutions to help reduce the labor shortage and meet the needs of our business community.

We keep the state in a strong fiscal position by keeping Wisconsinites employed and expanding the workforce and not hindering Wisconsin businesses.  The key toward a more prosperous Wisconsin is state government agencies working together supporting private sector businesses.

Representative Rick Gundrum (R-Slinger) represents the 58th Assembly District and serves as the Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economy and Small Business Development.