Wisconsin's child rebate program has done brisk business in it's first days of operation.
Governor Walker announced several weeks ago a portion of the $400 million state surplus was going to be refunded. The program officially opened this week. Department of Revenue Secretary Richard Chandler describes how the rebate works...
"....it's a $100 per child rebate for every child that was under 18 as of December 31 2017, The person who can claim the rebate is the person who claims the child as a dependent on their income tax return. So it's a return of the sales taxes on purchases they made throughout 2017...."
Chandler describes how the rebate can be picked up....
"...the easiest thing to do is go to a website we've set up, childtaxrebate.wi.gov or if people don't have access to a computer or would just prefer to have someone help them through the process, they can call us at 608-266-KIDS..."
The rebate is returned as either a direct deposit to a checking or savings account or as a check. Chandler says as of Wednesday, the Department of Revenue has received 140,000 claims since they opened up the filing period. That's about 20 percent of the people who are eligible, so it has been popular. The rebate signup ends on July 1.
Critics have said the move by Governor Walker was an election year stunt to highlight his reelection campaign, but while stopping in Rhinelander recently, Walker said the public deserved to have their money returned from a surplus.
