JOBS TAX CREDIT DOUBLED
MMAC Praises Bi-Partisan Approval of Job Creation Tool
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: JULIE GRANGER
OCTOBER 18, 2011 414-287-4131
MILWAUKEE…The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) called
today’s legislative action to double funding for the state’s Jobs Tax Credit a, “great example of
putting partisanship aside and putting jobs first here in Wisconsin.”
“Creating jobs should 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% 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.
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 (MI) 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 just last week, the WJTC program was deployed to secure the consolidation
of Bostik’s R&D and corporate headquarters operations from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania to
the company’s facility in Wauwatosa (76 jobs).
The legislation passed today (32-1 in the state Senate and 95-2 in the state Assembly) would
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 a even stronger and more versatile arrow in our quiver when we go hunting for new jobs and
investment in Wisconsin.”
The MMAC represents over 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.
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