Legislation for repeal of personal property tax introduced

A legislative proposal by Wisconsin Sen. Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska) and Wisconsin Rep. Robyn Vining (D-Wauwatosa) was introduced to repeal Wisconsin’s personal property tax and create a new state aid payment to compensate local governments for their lost revenue, according to a release from the office of Gov. Tony Evers. An earlier bill, AB-191, would have supported repealing the state’s personal property tax but Gov. Tony Evers said he vetoed that bill because it could have had problematic ramifications for railroad taxes, manufacturing and agriculture credits, and taxes owed by utility companies. The new bill, LRB-4737, exempts from property taxation all property classified as personal property and fixes several problems and unintended consequences associated with AB-191.