In today's economic times, you take the good news where you can get it. Recent analyses of U.S. Census Bureau data show that Wisconsin no longer is among the top 10 highest-taxed states in the nation, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
That's great news!
But don't get out the noisemakers just yet. We're No. 11.
Still, it's progress. Wisconsin hasn't been out of the top 10 of most-taxed states since 1980. It was sixth in 2004 and eighth in 2005. Todd Berry of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance told the Wisconsin State Journal that except for 1980, the state has been in the top 10 since 1969.
The rankings are based on the percentage of personal income residents spend on state and local taxes - which in 2006 (the most recent year data is available) was about 12.3 percent, according to the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance. That percentage actually rose from 12.1 the previous year, but other states are increasing at a higher rate than Wisconsin.
Part of the credit for Wisconsin's slightly improved ranking is being given to caps on school district revenues - the greatest driver of local property tax collections. Revenue caps, while opposed by schools and municipalities, have been successful in slowing the growth of taxes in Wisconsin. This most recent news is just the latest evidence of that.
Unfortunately, Gov. Jim Doyle used his veto power to raise the revenue cap from 2 percent to just under 4 percent for the current year. And, predictably, after he raised the cap, local governments levied the extra allowable amount - whether it was necessary or not. It will be interesting to see what impact all of that will have on future state tax rankings. But the lesson of the story must be that tax revenue caps must remain in place, slowing the growth of taxation while still giving local residents the ability to give their schools and municipalities more when they see fit.
In the same analyses is the news that personal income in Wisconsin is 6 percent below the national average.
"If we want to drop further in taxes relative to income, we need to focus on increasing incomes," Jon Peacock, research director at the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, said in a news release Wednesday. "That means investing in the workforce. Simply cutting spending while income stagnates is the wrong formula."
He's right. So while the tax-ranking news is welcome, it doesn't tell the entire story. The growth of taxation has slowed. That must continue. Meanwhile, greater emphasis must be placed of growing income.
That's great news!
But don't get out the noisemakers just yet. We're No. 11.
Still, it's progress. Wisconsin hasn't been out of the top 10 of most-taxed states since 1980. It was sixth in 2004 and eighth in 2005. Todd Berry of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance told the Wisconsin State Journal that except for 1980, the state has been in the top 10 since 1969.
The rankings are based on the percentage of personal income residents spend on state and local taxes - which in 2006 (the most recent year data is available) was about 12.3 percent, according to the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance. That percentage actually rose from 12.1 the previous year, but other states are increasing at a higher rate than Wisconsin.
Part of the credit for Wisconsin's slightly improved ranking is being given to caps on school district revenues - the greatest driver of local property tax collections. Revenue caps, while opposed by schools and municipalities, have been successful in slowing the growth of taxes in Wisconsin. This most recent news is just the latest evidence of that.
Unfortunately, Gov. Jim Doyle used his veto power to raise the revenue cap from 2 percent to just under 4 percent for the current year. And, predictably, after he raised the cap, local governments levied the extra allowable amount - whether it was necessary or not. It will be interesting to see what impact all of that will have on future state tax rankings. But the lesson of the story must be that tax revenue caps must remain in place, slowing the growth of taxation while still giving local residents the ability to give their schools and municipalities more when they see fit.
In the same analyses is the news that personal income in Wisconsin is 6 percent below the national average.
"If we want to drop further in taxes relative to income, we need to focus on increasing incomes," Jon Peacock, research director at the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, said in a news release Wednesday. "That means investing in the workforce. Simply cutting spending while income stagnates is the wrong formula."
He's right. So while the tax-ranking news is welcome, it doesn't tell the entire story. The growth of taxation has slowed. That must continue. Meanwhile, greater emphasis must be placed of growing income.
