In Gov. Tony Evers’ 2021–23 biennial budget proposal, a plan to enhance local control and give communities around Wisconsin the option to raise taxes is drawing criticism. Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) came out against Evers’ plan to allow counties and many municipalities to increase the sales tax.
The current plan allows counties to impose an additional 0.5% tax on top of the state sales tax of 5%. Under the new Evers’ budget, counties and municipalities with greater than 30,000 residents could increase the sales tax by an additional 0.5%. WMC argues that many Wisconsinites could see their local sales tax jump to 6.5%, but Evers states the ability for local officials to raise the sales tax is needed to make critical investments in local roads, direct services, maintenance, public safety, and public health.
