Doyle to veto GOP tax credit plan
00:00 am 4/14/05
Patricia Simms Wisconsin State Journal
Gov. Jim Doyle on Wednesday said he would veto any proposed business tax credit that excludes companies doing embryonic stem-cell research.
Doyle reacted angrily to a bill approved by the Assembly late Tuesday night that would give research and development tax credits to Wisconsin companies, with the exception of those that focus on human cloning or research new lines of embryonic stem cells.
The bill is one of the legislative linchpins in Assembly Republicans' package for job creation that is awaiting action in the Senate.
Doyle said he was surprised by the last-minute action on the bill Tuesday.
"As long as I am governor, any bill that would restrict stem-cell research or set businesses who invest in stem-cell research apart from other high- tech companies would be vetoed immediately," Doyle said at a press conference called to announce $200,000 in loans to TrafficCast Inc. of Madison.
Rep. Steve Kestell, R-Elkhart Lake, on Tuesday said the program would benefit those using the handful of UW-owned stem-cell lines, but Assembly Democrats said the GOP version of the R&D tax credit would drive away researchers to states such as California, which has approved spending $300 billion on stem cell research.
Doyle said the biotech industry already accounts for 20,000 jobs in Wisconsin, with the potential for many more. "This Republican measure sends exactly the wrong message to these businesses," he said.
