No. Most revenue from a City of Milwaukee sales tax must be spent on city employee pensions and most of the remainder on police and fire positions.
Author Archives: Tom Kertscher / Wisconsin Watch
Tom Kertscher joined as a Wisconsin Watch fact checker in January 2023 and contributes to our collaboration with the The Gigafact Project to fight misinformation online. Kertscher is a former longtime newspaper reporter, including at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who has worked as a self-employed journalist since 2019. His gigs include contributing writer for PolitiFact and sports freelancer for The Associated Press.
Posted inFact briefs
Did a Tony Evers veto allow Wisconsin children to choose gender reassignment surgery paid for by Medicaid?
No. Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a part of the 2023-25 state budget that would have prohibited people from using Medicaid to pay for some transgender health services.
Posted inFact briefs
Did Gov. Tony Evers veto tax cuts for people earning over $36,000 per year?
Yes. A veto issued by Gov. Tony Evers eliminated tax cuts on the income for Wisconsin married couples above the first $36,840 per year they earn.
Posted inFact briefs
Do many NATO countries meet their pledge to spend 2% of their GDP on defense?
No. Seven of NATO’s 30 member countries spent at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense in 2022, according to the NATO secretary general’s 2022 annual report.
Posted inFact briefs
Can colleges consider legacy status in admissions, despite the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action?
Yes. The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 29, 2023, ruling striking down affirmative action in college admissions did not address using legacy as a preference in admissions.
Posted inFact briefs
Are affirmative action policies still legal in admissions to military academies?
Yes. The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 29, 2023, ruling striking down affirmative action in college admissions includes a footnote that exempts military academies.
Posted inFact briefs
Do income tax cuts proposed in the Wisconsin state budget benefit richer people the most?
Yes. The 2023-25 Wisconsin state budget would reduce income tax rates in all brackets and taxpayers with the largest incomes would get the largest share of the $3.5 billion reduction.
Posted inFact briefs
Is annual funding for Wisconsin public school districts $16,000 per student?
Yes. In 2021-22, the latest year for which data are available, Wisconsin’s K-12 public school districts received an average of $16,859 in revenue per student, according to the state Department of Public Instruction.
Posted inFact briefs
Is Wisconsin’s income tax rate highest in the Midwest for residents with the highest incomes?
No. Among Midwestern states, Minnesota has the highest income tax rate in the highest-income tax bracket — 9.85% for an individual with annual income over $183,340.
Posted inFact briefs
Is homicide a leading cause of death among pregnant women in the US?
Yes. Researchers have found that homicide is among the leading causes of death of pregnant women in the U.S.
Posted inFact briefs
Is a Milwaukee suburb proposing a ‘transportation utility fee’ that would cost supermarkets $10,000 per year?
Yes. The city of Wauwatosa estimates that its proposed transportation utility would impose an annual fee of $10,143 on a 24,000-square-foot supermarket.
Posted inFact briefs
Did a Gallup poll find that nearly one in five members of Gen Z identify as LGBT?
Yes. In Gallup polling done in 2022, 19.7% of Gen Z respondents identified as LGBT, according to results released in February 2023.