Senate Bill 654 proposes to exempt individuals engaged in contract research services from the sales and use tax for machinery and equipment that is consumed or destroyed during qualified research activities. The bill defines "contract research services" as research conducted on behalf of a customer that would qualify as "qualified research" if performed by the customer's employees. This exemption expands upon existing tax exemptions for manufacturing and biotechnology sectors, thereby broadening the scope of entities eligible for tax relief in Wisconsin.

The bill includes several key amendments to current law. It renumbers and amends the definition of "qualified research" to include specific types of research funding, such as that provided by members of a combined group and contract research expenses as defined by the Internal Revenue Code. Additionally, it creates new statutory language to clarify the definition of contract research services and explicitly states that individuals engaged in these services are eligible for the tax exemption. The bill is set to take effect three months after publication.