Wisconsin Policy Forum Releases State Budget Analysis

By Chamber staff

The Wisconsin Policy Forum recently released a Budget Brief report on Gov. Tony Evers’ 2025-27 proposed state budget. The report provides a detailed synopsis of the state’s fiscal picture, noting many opportunities – including a more than $4 billion budget surplus to draw from – as well as challenges, including rising inflation, uncertainty in federal funding and a record number of referenda by municipalities and school districts across the state. 

The Governor proposes using a significant portion of the state’s reserves, prioritizing K-12 education, shared revenue to local governments and funding for the Universities of Wisconsin. To pay for the new spending, the Governor proposes raising individual and corporate income taxes as well as limiting state incentives for manufacturers and capital gains. GOP leaders have signaled opposition to the Governor’s proposed spending plans, likely crafting their own plan from scratch through the Joint Committee on Finance. 

Also included within the report is a special in-depth analysis of the state’s childcare situation. The Chamber supported this work as part of continued advocacy to support public- and private-sector strategies that reduce barriers to entry for entrepreneurs and workers in the childcare industry. The Governor’s budget proposes spending $480 million over two years to fully reinstate the Child Care Counts program, which provides payments to childcare providers. The report estimates an unmet demand for childcare in Wisconsin of between 32 and 40%. Filling that demand would cost an estimated $655 million to $2 billion total. 

Wisconsin is not alone in this challenge. State governments across the country are using a variety of policy approaches to address both access and cost of care. In addition to direct funding, states have created employer cost-sharing and tax incentive programs (see Table 1).

Read the full report from the Wisconsin Public Policy Forum here.