Republicans on the Legislatures Joint Finance Committee approved a tax package they touted as simple and fair, meeting on Thursday for the first time in more than a month.

Were being responsible with what we’re doing with our tax code, trying to move toward a simpler, flatter, fairer code, said Rep. Dale Kooyenga, R-Brookfield.

Kooyenga and Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, both accountants, crafted the GOP proposal. Marklein said the two goals guiding his work on the tax code were simplification and fairness.

The package will match the states alternative minimum tax to the federal threshold, which is estimated to give an average tax cut of $645 to 1.2 percent of the states taxpayers — the majority of whom earn more than $100,000 per year. The move would reduce tax collections by $6 million in 2016-17.

The motion would also lessen the so-called marriage penalty by increasing the standard deduction by $550 for married couples who file jointly by $260 for those who file separately. 

Teachers who purchase school supplies for their classrooms would be allowed to deduct up to $250 per year, lining the state up with the federal rate. 

Thats a small token, a way we can say we really appreciate our teachers, Kooyenga said.

The package would also reduce the manufacturing and agriculture tax credits awarded in 2015, but allow them to increase in 2016. The move would save the state $16.8 million. 

The tax package would also reduce funding for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and phase out its loan program while increasing the business development tax credits it can award.

Not included in the tax package is a so-called tourism tax, which would have raised the amount people pay in sales tax when they book hotels online. Kooyenga had previously floated the possibility of that to balance the impact of the AMT changes.

Democrats criticized their Republican counterparts for a proposal they said benefits the wealthy rather than investing more in education or infrastructure. But Republicans said they have invested in those areas.

Our priorities are reflected in what we fought for, Kooyenga said. I’m proud of this package, i’m proud of where we’ve come to date.

Other adjustments in the package include:

• Increasing the cigarette tax stamp discount from 0.7 percent to 0.8 percent, reducing state revenues by an estimated $1.1 million.

• Taxing pear cider as hard cider, rather than wine. This would decrease tax collections by an estimated $375,000.

• Creating a sales tax exemption for farm-raised deer that are sold to a person operating a hunting reserve or game farm in Wisconsin. This would reduce revenues by $210,000.

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