Statement of Common Council President Cavalier Johnson April 26, 2021 Last week it was reported that Milwaukee could be facing a loss of approximately $600 million from tourism due to the cancellation of events like Summerfest, the Democratic National Convention and others in 2020. This projection underscores how the state funding mechanisms for communities across Wisconsin are broken. Communities like Milwaukee are responsible for delivering services to residents and visitors alike, and while Milwaukee would not have directly benefited from taxation of this tourism revenue, the State government certainly would have, while not allocating a fair share of that revenue back to Milwaukee. This is precisely why I traveled to testify at the Joint Finance Committee’s public hearing last week regarding the proposed budget. A local sales tax would allow Milwaukee to capture a portion of that tourism revenue to fund essential City services that increase quality of life for our residents and keep Milwaukee an attractive destination for visitors.