What Happens in Vegas…
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) is opposing the Senate Democrats’ economic development plan, Wisconsin Invests Now. The plan seeks to invest in Wisconsin’s infrastructure for future growth and quickly provide more well paying jobs. The good news is that the plan would be paid for by closing the corporate tax loophole known as the ‘Las Vegas Loophole.’
What WMC calls ‘combined reporting,’ this shady loophole allows multi-state corporations to escape their fair share of Wisconsin taxes by diverting profits to paper subsidies in states like Nevada, where corporate income taxes aren’t collected. Essentially, all a corporation needs is a shiny mail box in Vegas, and it’s goodbye Wisconsin, hello jackpot. The non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimates the cost to Wisconsin taxpayers due to this loophole to be $81,000,000 annualy.
James A. Buchen, WMC vice president, today asserted, ‘We need to be looking for ways to spread growth, hope and opportunity for our families instead of passing proposals that will lead to increased unemployment and despair.’ Unfortunately, the real despair lies in WMC’s continued success in shifting the tax burden onto Wisconsin families, while corporations sing ‘What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.’