State and local taxes as a share of income fell once again in Wisconsin in 2024, pushing this ratio — known as the state and local tax burden — to its lowest level since at least 1970, a new Wisconsin Policy Forum report finds.
This ratio between what Wisconsin residents pay in all state and local taxes and what they receive in income from all sources fell from 9.92% in 2023 to 9.62% in 2024. The decrease reflects continued growth in incomes in the state, plus aggressive efforts by the state to hold down local property taxes.
Each year, the Wisconsin Policy Forum examines every local and state tax paid, from the fees paid by dry cleaners ($369,050 in 2024) to gross local property taxes ($13.09 billion). To these fiscal year 2024 figures, it compares state personal income data from the prior calendar year, in this case 2023, to calculate tax burdens.
Overall, state and local tax revenues grew by 1.9%, rising from $36.2 billion in 2023 to $36.9 billion in 2024. That lagged the rate of inflation and was the smallest increase since 2017. Meanwhile, income growth easily outstripped the growth in tax collections, as personal income in calendar year 2023 grew by 5.2% — double the increase seen the previous year. Still, as it has in every year since 2009, personal income growth in Wisconsin lagged the national average, which this year was 5.9%.
Click here to read the full report.
