Wisconsin veterans groups object to limit on property tax credit

Proposal was approved by Wisconsin Legislature's budgeting committee

By Meg Jones of the Journal Sentinel

 

June 12, 2013

 

Dale Kooyenga

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Wisconsin veterans groups are sharply criticizing a move by lawmakers to curtail and strip disabled veterans of property tax credit benefits.
The state provides a refundable income tax credit for the property taxes paid on principal dwellings by veterans who are 100% disabled and their surviving spouses. Spouses of veterans killed in Iraq and Afghanistan also receive the credit if they don't remarry.
Last week the Joint Finance Committee voted to limit the amount of property taxes to be reimbursed to $2,500 a year. The committee also created a means test phase-out, so that if the income of 100% disabled veterans exceeds a certain amount, they will be dropped from the property tax credit program. This also would apply to their surviving spouses and spouses of Wisconsin service members killed in action.
Disabled American Veterans state legislative director Al Labelle called the committee's action appalling.
"Apparently some committee members feel the sacrifices made by severely wounded, injured and ill veterans are just another budget item," Labelle said.
Mike "Gunner" Furgal, a Marine who served in Vietnam, doesn't qualify for the benefit, but he knows veterans who do, including an Afghan veteran suffering from a traumatic brain injury. The committee's action will be a big topic at this week's state VFW convention in Green Bay.
"I think it's a shame when we have a budget surplus that they're balancing the budget on the back of veterans," said Furgal, legislative chairman for the Wisconsin VFW. "That's really a slap in the face of veterans."
In the fiscal year that ends June 30, the cost to the state for the property tax credit is $17.7 million. The program began as part of the 2005-'07 state budget.
Rep. Dale Kooyenga (R-Brookfield) pointed out that there are plenty of veterans programs, ranging from job training to education benefits, in the next biennial state budget. Lawmakers decided to put a $2,500 cap on the disabled veteran property tax credit and limit eligibility based on income, Kooyenga said, to make it more fair.
"Does it make sense to have a credit that could apply to a millionaire? You could have a million-dollar house but 100% of your property taxes would be paid by the state," said Kooyenga, a CPA and Army Reservist who served in Iraq.


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