From WisBusiness.com …
— While it raises some business taxes, the budget proposal unveiled Tuesday night by Gov. Jim Doyle will also provide incentives to investors, businesses that expand research and development investment, and those that create jobs.
Among a host of initiatives to beef up Act 255 tax credits for angel investments, Doyle proposes raising the cap on the credits from $1 million to $4 million. The proposal will allow entrepreneurs to choose any mix of eligible angel and venture capital, and provide the Department of Commerce more flexibility to respond to uneven demand in angel and venture credits. The change would be implemented retroactively for tax year 2008.
Doyle also proposes permitting Commerce to certify up to 10 percent full-time payroll credit for as many as 10 years for businesses creating Wisconsin jobs. Training costs would also be eligible to earn credits.
The provision breaks the credits down into two categories, Tier 1 and Tier 2 counties and municipalities. In Tier 1, Commerce can award up to 10 percent of full time payroll above $20,000 and below $100,000 per employee. In Tier 2, the credit can be awarded to 10 percent of full time payroll above $30,000 and below $100,000. The total program cost will be capped at $10 million per year.
Doyle’s proposal provides businesses that increase research and development by more than 125 percent of their three-year research and development average with an income and franchise tax credit worth one dollar for every one dollar of investment above 125 percent. Under the proposal, if a business spends an average of $3 million on research and development over a three-year period, and in the next year increases its expenditures to $5 million, it would receive a credit worth $1.25 million.
See more budget coverage in the WisPolitics Budget Blog: http://blogs.wispolitics.com/budget
— Doyle has stressed the benefits of a modernized transportation infrastructure and in his two-year budget plan, Doyle put that emphasis into sharp focus. His budget includes provisions to implement a tax on oil companies to pay for highway improvements, establish regional transit authorities in three major urban areas, funding for Amtrak service improvements between Milwaukee and Chicago and establishing a commuter rail line between Milwaukee and Madison.
The budget also includes $569 million in new funding for road projects, a 19.6 percent increase over the previous biennium. The bulk of the funding increase comes from approximately $529 million provided to the state through the federal stimulus bill.
The oil franchise fee, now dubbed the “oil company profits tax,” was originally proposed in Doyle’s previous biennial spending plan but was thwarted by Republicans who controlled the Assembly. The graduated tax would pull in $272 million in revenue each year from oil companies gross receipts, Doyle’s budget office projects.
See more on the transportation aspects of Doyle’s budget: http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=149470
— Republicans say Doyle’s $62.7 billion two-year budget plan will hammer taxpayers of all sorts.
Doyle told lawmakers at the Capitol last night, “My budget stands up for the people who earn regular paychecks and the people who, through no fault of their own, have lost theirs.”
Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, turned one of Doyle’s favorite phrases to jab him on tax increases.
“I heard the governor say that Wisconsinites don’t curl up and hide beneath the covers. But I think taxpayers better do that,” Scott Fitzgerald said. “Between the stimulus bill and what the governor just (presented), the taxpayers are certainly going to feel it.”
— Wisconsin corporate and government officials got a run down Tuesday on the best strategies for getting a piece of the federal stimulus package that President Obama signed into law.
“I hate to keep saying speed, speed, speed, but the commitment of these funds will be done very quickly. You need to get on the list,” predicts Murray Sim, national project director of energy for Titus at The Road to Economic Recovery symposium.
His advice to the nearly 200 people at the Radisson Hotel was to prepare a single paper on the project or business plan in need of dollars and specifics like its workforce, timeline and even a carbon footprint.
“If the engineering is done or that project is already on the drawing board, you’re going to have a better chance,” he said.
Tuesday’s symposium was one of three planned this week. There is one scheduled for Thursday in Milwaukee and another Friday in Madison.
Details on Wisconsin’s share of the stimulus money were filtering in throughout the conference, and some laptops were loading the new http://www.recovery.gov Web site to look for information.
See more from the symposium: http://wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=149458
— A Dane County jury has found drug maker Pharmacia defrauded Wisconsin’s Medicaid program by inflating prices and ordered the company to pay $9 million.
The jury also found Pharmacia, a subsidiary of Pfizer, violated the Medicaid Fraud law more than 1.4 million times. The state Department of Justice, which brought the action against the company, said the court may award a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $15,000 per violation.
Barring a settlement or a successful appeal by the company, that could bring between $144 million and more than $2 billion to the state.
Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said the DOJ has brought three dozen actions against various drug makers raising similar allegations. The Pharmacia case was the first to go to trial, while three companies have reached settlements. Thirty-two cases remain pending.
See the release: http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=149379
Listen to the news conference: http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/090217_VH_Medicaid.mp3
— Michelle Vetterkind, president of the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, has been putting in some long weeks leading up to the switch to digital-only television by many stations.
That doesn’t mean she’ll be cutting back on her workload, however.
About half the stations around the state will delay the change – which means clearer pictures and sound – until June 12, thanks to a four-month extension for the switch-over granted by Congress. Come summer, Vetterkind figures she might be able to take a well-deserved vacation.
“Maybe we’ll be able to let up some before June 12, but we still have a lot of work to do,” she said.
She also has some other serious issues on her plate, due to the sputtering economy that has reduced advertising to almost all media outlets and forced many radio and TV stations to lay off staff.
Vetterkind, who has been president of the broadcasters’ group for two years, calls the switch from analog to DTV an “historical event, even more so than the switch from black-and-white to color.”
See more soon at http://www.wisbusiness.com from a new interview with Vetterkind.
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REGISTER NOW: FOCUS ON MIDWEST ENERGY CONFERENCE II
Feb. 23, 2009 at Monona Terrace in Madison
Conference includes: U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin; Obama environmental adviser Howard Learner; Gary Mar, Alberta’s official representative to the United States; and David K. Owens, executive vice president of business operations at the Edison Electric Institute. For more information, see a recent press release: http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=147100
Sponsors for this event include Xcel Energy, American Transmission Company, Virchow, Krause & Company, the Wisconsin Petroleum Council, Alliant Energy and Dominion. The government of Canada and Wisconsin Environmental Initiative are event partners.
The event is open to the public. Individual tickets cost $75 each. Tables are available for purchase on a first-come, first-served basis at a cost of $600. Student discounts also will be available. The ticket price includes food.
For more information or to register, contact Jim Greer at 608-237-6296 or greer@wispolitics.com.
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Press Releases
· Applied Tech: Announces new hire, Nathan Toth
· Coalition Against New Taxes: Statement re: Potential taxation of professional or business services
· Dept. of Justice: Jury finds Pharmacia committed fraud on Wisconsin Medicaid program; Van Hollen’s Department of Justice wins state $9 million
· Focus on Energy: Helps minor league team become major energy savers
· Integrys Energy Group Inc.: Increases dividend on common stock for 51st consecutive year
· MIT Enterprise Forum/MIT Club of Wisconsin: Feb. 25 program – “Surviving and Thriving During the Recession of 2009”
· North Shore Bank: To hold series of financial seminars at Social Development Center
· Orion Energy Systems: Manitowoc mayor to join Orion Energy Systems upon completing his sixth term in office
· Park Towne Development Corp.: Joe Ring assumes new role
· Quarles & Brady: Launches stimulus task force
· Sajan: Adds new executive to increase channel & strategic business alliances
· SSI Technologies Inc.: New 3-10 PSIG pressure sensors for low pressure sensor applications
· State Bar of Wisconsin: Statement of president Diane S. Diel regarding the potential taxation of legal services
· The Selmer Company: Announces LEED accreditation
· UW-Eau Claire: Graduates among nation’s top financial advisers
· UW-Madison: Course builds community of biomedical entrepreneurs
· UW-Madison: French Master’s Program opens doors to world of work opportunities
· UW-Madison: To premiere new show on Big Ten Network
· UW-Madison: UW students to get prepared for life at financial independence seminar
· UW-Madison: Wisconsin’s response to climate change is seminar topic
· UW-Stout: Midwest institutions gain federal grant to integrate FAB LABs into teaching programs
· Wisconsin Apollo Alliance: Investing in clean energy will save Wisconsin jobs, reduce global warming impacts
· Wisconsin Safety Council: Corporate safety award finalists announced
· WMC: Ads urge public to oppose 11 percent business tax hike
· WMC: Business tax hikes on fast track
For these and more releases visit http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Content=82
TOP STORIES
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White House: Stimulus will create 70,000 Wisconsin jobs: The White House released on Tuesday a state-by-state summary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s impact on saving or creating a total of 3.5 million jobs, including 70,000 in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin impact would include 25,800 in U.S. Congressional Districts 1, 4 and 5, which cover most of southeast Wisconsin.
http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2009/02/16/daily25.html
Winsert workers face layoffs: Seventy workers at Winsert, 2645 Industrial Parkway, face uncertain futures after the company extended a layoff because contracts that had been delayed were unexpectedly cancelled.
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090218/GPG03/902180689/1247
Appleton Coated jobs cut: he market-related layoff of 63 workers at Appleton Coated LLC could conceivably last for a protracted period, but affected workers will retain their jobs. “The company stated there’s a very high likelihood that they would bring the 63 people back that they’re laying off,” said Heath Ver Bockel, president of Local 2-144 of the United Steelworkers, which represents 480 workers in all at the plant. “They plan on bringing them back when the economy improves and orders improve.”
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20090218/APC03/902180551/1028
Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin reports $167.3 million quarterly loss : Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin, the Madison-based parent company of AnchorBank, Tuesday reported a net loss of $167.3 million for the last quarter of 2008. The loss, which equals $7.96 a share, was due mainly to a $93 million provision for loan losses, up from $7.8 million a year ago, and a $72.2 million write-down in the value of certain assets.
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/biz/439105
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WISBUSINESS FEATURED COLUMNISTS
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– TOM STILL: President, Wisconsin Technology Council
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– TOM BURZINSKI: IT executive and consultant
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TECHNOLOGY (back to top)
– Nomination tops off good year for electronics maker
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090218/GPG03/902180684/1247
– Co-developer of first Koss stereophone dies
http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2009/02/16/daily32.html
BIOTECH (back to top)
– Pfizer found guilty of defrauding state
http://www.jsonline.com/business/39719447.html
– Stemina, Promega to collaborate on research
http://www.jsonline.com/business/39718727.html
ECONOMY (back to top)
– Chamber recognizes outstanding members
http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20090218/OSH03/902180384/1167
– State awaits energy money
http://www.jsonline.com/business/39762682.html
MANUFACTURING (back to top)
– Modine secures waivers on defaulted debts, posts $56M loss
http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2009/02/16/daily24.html
– Share Building Products, masonry-maker, files for bankruptcy
http://www.jsonline.com/business/39760412.html
– Smithfield cuts bypass Patrick Cudahy
http://www.jsonline.com/business/39715202.html
SMALL BUSINESS (back to top)
– Having an authentic brand important for business, speaker says
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090218/GPG03/902180688/1247
INVESTING (back to top)
– Integrys Energy Groupto pay a dividend
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090218/GPG03/902180687/1247
– Tufco Technologies earnings down a penny
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090218/GPG03/902180686/1247
REAL ESTATE (back to top)
– California real estate group buys seven downtown properties
http://www.madison.com/tct/business/439054
– Marcus Hotels moves ahead with $30M in upgrade projects
http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2009/02/16/daily23.html
AGRIBUSINESS (back to top)
– Wind powers Calumet County farm’s needs
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20090218/APC03/902180545/1028
– State monitoring Olsen’s Mill, Renew Energy situations
http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20090218/OSH03/902180396/1167
REGULATION (back to top)
– Pharmacia ordered to pay $9M in Medicaid case
http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2009/02/16/daily30.html
FINANCIAL SERVICES (back to top)
– Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin reports $167.3 million quarterly loss
http://www.madison.com/tct/business/439108
MANAGEMENT (back to top)
– Manitowoc mayor to join Orion
http://www.jsonline.com/business/39709102.html
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