Based on two-year-old data from the U.S. Census Bureau, taxes paid by Wisconsin residents as a share of personal income have fallen by more than two percentage points over the past two decades, one of the largest declines in the nation, according to a new report from the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
As a result, the state’s tax ranking has fallen to 19th in the nation, and the state is no longer in the top tier of highest tax states relative to personal income.
Taxes took up 10.3 percent of Wisconsinites’ income in 2017, a slight increase from 10.2 percent in 2016, when the state ranked 16th highest in the nation. The Policy Forum noted, however, that percentagewise little has changed since 2015 because that year, the state’s taxes took up 10.4 percent of personal income and ranked 22nd highest.
The report also shows that as a share of personal income, state and local governments in Wisconsin spend at roughly average levels but tax a little more because governments here receive significantly less on average in federal aid and somewhat less in fees for services.
Compared to other states, Wisconsin continues to have high income taxes and somewhat high property taxes and relies less on revenues such as sales taxes and fees that typically receive less notice from the public.
