During regional press conferences held throughout the state, legislative republicans unveiled the "Returning Your Surplus" proposal, a plan for substantial tax relief, benefiting Wisconsin's middle-class and retirees. The "Returning Your Surplus" proposal is expected to cut the state’s tax burden by nearly $3 billion, with an average filer seeing a savings of $772 a year.

Governor Evers' vetoed 95% of the income tax portion of the recently passed budget, taking income tax relief from $3.5 billion to $175 million. The average tax decrease went from $573 to $36, barely worth a tank of gas. With our new proposal, legislative Republicans are making good on our promise to return a majority of the vetoed surplus back to the hardworking people of Wisconsin.

The “Returning Your Surplus” legislation includes the creation of a Tax-Free Retirement as well as a middle-class tax cut to provide widespread relief. In addition to exempting up to $150,000 in retirement account income for joint filers, this legislation would reduce the middle-income tax rate from 5.3% to 4.4%, helping the typical Wisconsin family, which makes an average of $67,000 a year.

A tax-free retirement is an important opportunity to stay competitive with our surrounding states, making sure Wisconsin is a great place to live, work, and retire. Under the proposal, about 98% of Wisconsin residents who pay income taxes on their retirement would now have it exempt.

Wisconsin residents are among the most highly taxed earners across the country. This coupled with crushing inflationary pressures has made affording everyday life a financial struggle. Our current policies in place are effectively driving our hardworking residents out of state. Our goal with this tax relief proposal is to keep people in Wisconsin, whether working or retired.

The "Returning Your Surplus" proposal is an opportunity for Governor Evers to fix his veto mistake and support the middle-class tax cut. It is expected to be on the assembly floor in mid-September.

Watch highlights from Tuesday's regional press conferences below.