State and local taxes in 2022 totaled 9.9% of personal income, a record low that was driven by rising incomes, state caps on property taxes and an income tax cut, according to the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
That dropped Wisconsin to the 35th highest state and local tax burden — another all-time low. It continued a two-decade trend of Wisconsin falling down the rankings of the highest taxed states; in 2000, it ranked No. 3.
The new report, though, noted local property tax referendums and increases in the sales taxes for Milwaukee County and the city may halt or slow the decline.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum also noted a corresponding shift in spending as the tax burden has declined. Wisconsin in 2000 ranked eight-highest for spending on K-12 education. In 2022, it was 31st.
The 9.9% of personal income that went to state and local taxes in 2022 was down from 10.3% the year before. It was also 1.2 percentage points below the national average of 11.1% for fiscal year 2022.
The drop in the tax burden occurred even as state and local tax revenues rose 4.6% in 2022 amid inflation, according to the report. Nationally, those collections grew 12.6%. But the state implemented a reduction in the third-highest tax bracket that began in calendar year 2021, taking the rate to 5.3% from 6.27%. That helped limit the growth in government revenues.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum conducts a review of the state and local tax burden each year by looking at data from the U.S. Census Bureau, along with population and personal income figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
