Fiscal Facts According to Wisconsin Policy Forum
After a decade of modest increases, Wisconsin property taxes have risen faster in the past two years. Factors contributing to growth include voter-approved school leavers, raising government revenue ceilings for schools, and increasing community and county levies to pay off debts.
Local governments and school districts have set strict government caps on local property taxes over the past decade. However, because state aid is also limited and local governments have few other taxes at their disposal, local elected officials have increasingly turned to a small number of exceptions in state law that allow them to increase property taxes – including referendums for school districts for borrowing for municipalities and districts.
Our analysis of the state data shows that in the December 2020 tax assessments alone, property taxes rose more than 1.1 billion across the country Referendum provisions.
For 2020-2021 wealth taxes, which were billed in December 2020 and paid through 2021, U.S. Treasury Department data shows the statewide gross tax was $ 12.02 billion, up 3.4% from the Corresponds to the previous year. This followed a 3.7% increase in the previous year, with both years outpacing inflation and being the two largest increases since 2009-2010.
While they have risen faster in the past two years, property taxes have remained largely under control, and the state has seen its property tax burden (measured as the ratio of property taxes to personal income) drop to its lowest level in at least the past half century. But the limits and exceptions to this can have unintended consequences.
Municipalities and counties in particular are increasingly turning to borrowing, an exception under national borders. From 2010-2011 through 2020-2021, the combined use of this exemption for payments on municipal and county debt issued after July 2005 increased from $ 333.6 million to $ 920 million, an increase of 175.8%.
This finding suggests that state tax boundaries may induce some local governments to use debt for expenses they would have previously paid with cash. That may not be financially sustainable, especially if the current low interest rates are rising.
This information is made available to members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association as a service of the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the state's premier resource for bipartisan state and local government research and civic education. Learn more at wispolicyforum.org.