Revenue Secretary Peter Barca says a new business development unit at DOR will support the WEDC’s economic development strategy.
“We’re trying to augment what WEDC is doing,” Barca told WisBusiness.com in a recent interview.
He says the new Business Development and Government Relations unit, or BDGR, has the support of the state’s regional economic development groups and Gov. Tony Evers. Barca says the unit will complement the guv’s statewide economic development initiative, which calls on agencies to collaborate to drive growth in all 72 counties.
“Like any problem, you want to tackle it from every angle,” he said.
Any tax credits authorized by WEDC and earned by companies are administered by DOR. Barca sees the new BDGR unit as a natural extension of that relationship, adding DOR can offer resources and perspectives that WEDC can’t.
He said DOR has a number of economists that can provide insight on housing, sales tax revenues, current retail sales trends and much more. Since WEDC doesn’t have the same expertise on hand, Barca said, the new unit will leverage those economists to complement existing economic development efforts. Read the full story here.
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