Wisconsin Shock: Higher Than California

Wisconsin’s leading Democratic candidate for governor told voters on a debate stage that her tax hike was small, but the bill she wrote sets a rate of 17.7% — higher than any state in the country.

Story Snapshot

Francesca Hong, the front-runner in Wisconsin’s Democratic primary for governor, says her tax plan targets only the super-rich.
At a recent debate, she described a roughly one-point increase, but legislation she introduced sets a top rate of 17.7%.
That rate would top California’s 13% and dwarf neighboring Indiana’s 2.95% flat tax.
The Washington Post’s opinion page, not usually aligned with conservative critics, warned the plan could push wealthy residents out of Wisconsin.

A Debate Answer That Didn’t Match the Bill

During a recent gubernatorial debate, Hong told voters she would raise the top income tax rate by about one point, moving it from 7.65% to roughly 8.65%. But months earlier, Hong introduced Assembly Bill 1209, which creates a fifth tax bracket. That bracket sets rates at 17.3% for 2025 and 17.7% for every year after.

Wisconsin news outlets picked up on the gap right away. One report accused Hong of “not telling the truth” about her own bill during the debate. Another outlet framed it plainly: she says one thing on stage, but the legislation she authored says something very different. Hong’s campaign has not released a document reconciling the two numbers.

How the Numbers Compare Nationally

Set against other states, the 17.7% figure stands out. A recent analysis noted the rate would exceed California’s 13% top bracket, long seen as the nation’s highest, and would run far above neighboring Indiana’s flat 2.95% rate. That comparison matters for a state bordering low-tax neighbors, since higher earners and business owners have easy options nearby if they choose to relocate.

The Washington Post’s opinion section, not a typical ally of Hong’s conservative critics, published its own warning. The piece said Hong has made “squeezing high earners” a central theme of her campaign and cautioned that Wisconsin taxpayers could leave the state if she wins. When a left-leaning outlet raises the same flight concern as her opponents, it adds weight to the argument beyond partisan messaging.

Who Would Actually Pay, and What Happens Next

Hong’s own campaign materials describe the plan as a way to shift the tax burden toward the wealthy and large corporations while cutting property taxes by as much as 44%. She has said the new bracket would apply after a household’s first $1 million in income, with a separate, higher rate on billionaire earnings. Under her bill, single filers earning at least $750,000 and joint filers earning at least $1 million would fall into the new bracket.

Your Tuesday Morning News Brief: 🧵

1. Democrat Establishment Spooked Over Wisconsin Gubernatorial Primary

Francesca Hong will today, Tuesday, August 11, try to claim the Democratic Party’s nomination for Governor of Wisconsin. As a member of the Democratic Socialists of… pic.twitter.com/Stqdm1trvu

— Liberty Nation (@libertynation) August 11, 2026

National opinion writers have already framed Hong as a test case for the Democratic Socialist movement heading into 2026. No independent, nonpartisan Wisconsin fiscal analysis of her exact bracket structure has been made public. Until state economists model the plan’s real-world effects, voters are left weighing a campaign promise against a piece of legislation that tells a different story about the size of the tax hike.