On August 13, Wisconsin held its state partisan primary election, determining the outcomes of several significant state legislative and congressional races. Voters also cast their ballots on two statewide referenda concerning proposed constitutional amendments. With over 1.2 million voters participating - about 26% of the state's voting-age population - turnout was the highest for a Wisconsin state primary in a presidential election year in 60 years.

Although the primary lacked a headline-grabbing race, it had no shortage of drama and potential consequences.

Statewide Constitutional Amendments: A Win for Governor Tony Evers and Democrats

The most notable statewide contests revolved around two proposed constitutional amendments, both of which were rejected by wide margins. This outcome is widely viewed as a victory for Governor Tony Evers (D), as well as the Wisconsin Democratic Party which has again demonstrated its continued dominance in fundraising and voter turnout at the statewide level. The amendments aimed to restrict the governor’s ability to spend certain federal funds without legislative approval - a move seen as a direct response to Gov. Evers' management of approximately $5.1 billion in federal COVID-19 and economic relief funds.

Opponents of the amendments significantly outspent supporters in advertising 12:1, and the complex language of the amendments likely contributed to their defeat. This result contrasts with the success Republicans had in the statewide spring election earlier this year when voters approved two amendments. Those amendments, which passed by substantial margins, prohibit the use of private funding for election administration and limit the role of election officials to those legally designated.

Congressional Primaries: Outside Influence Shapes Outcomes.

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As part of the FY2025 State budget negotiations, IRMA agreed to a cap on the Retail Discount. This cap generated at least $200 million in additional state revenues while also helping restore monies to local governments following the repeal of the grocery tax. To soften the blow on retailers, provisions were included to remove the fees credit card companies and financial institutions unilaterally impose on the sales tax and gratuity portion of a sale. These fees are imposed on every electronic transaction, costing Illinois consumers and merchants millions of dollars each year. Importantly, credit card companies are still able to charge the interchange fee for the purchase price of the product.

Unhappy with this change, credit card companies and financial institutions have resorted to scare tactics to threaten consumers and small businesses, falsely claiming it will lead to a wide-array of negative outcomes. Additionally, last week financial institutions filed a lawsuit in attempt to preserve the ability to continue charging exorbitant fees to state sales taxes and workers’ tips. This was an expected response from financial institutions.

eHELPS readers should be aware of the following information:

The new law prohibits credit card companies from charging fees on state and local sales taxes paid by Illinois consumers and businesses on credit or debit card transactions. Credit card companies are no longer allowed to make money on the taxes Illinois consumers and businesses pay. Additionally, they are prohibited from charging fees to the business on tips consumers leave for workers.

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This past May, we provided an overview of the Visa and Mastercard settlement reached on March 26, 2024, that was a result of longstanding litigation with U.S. merchants. The settlement covered certain changes to the card networks’ regulations and future reduction or limits of interchange rates for U.S. Consumer and Commercial credit card transactions.



We’ve been tracking the settlement’s progression and wanted to provide an update. On June 25, a judge overseeing the final settlement rejected the proposed settlement. If you’d like to learn more about the outcome and reasons given for the settlement rejection, Payments Dive* offers a good summary.

On Friday March 1, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Alabama declared the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) unconstitutional. In the case of National Small Business Association v. Yellen (Case No. 5:22-cv-01448) [1], initiated by the National Small Business United, the challenge was against the CTA's mandate for small businesses to disclose their beneficial owners to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen). On Monday March 4 FinCen announced they would not enforce the BOI against the plaintiffs, a 65,000 member association, and the original business that brought the suit.

On Monday March 11, 2024 FinCEN appealed the ruling, which will probably go to the Supreme Court, so this is a temporary filing requirement suspension until a final appeal is exhausted. Although some are saying that the case will be thrown out and that everyone still needs to file, here is a direct quote from the Judge in the case: “The Defendants, along with any other agency or employee acting on behalf of the United States, are PERMANENTLY ENJOINED from enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act against the Plaintiffs," Burke wrote in a separate final judgment.

FinCen says the only people exempted from filing under this ruling are those businesses who were members of NSBA prior to the lawsuit. Several other states and groups are also suing FinCen over this, but nothing final has happened yet.

So what is a business to do now?

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