Would someone explain the taxes for Wisconsin? (Milwaukee, Waukesha: sales, houses)

[Atalanta]

Hi

I was wondering the taxes for the state of Wisconsin.

I see property taxes run high

But, it that because state tax is low, or ????

Thanks

[MortonR]

Property taxes in Wisconsin have been high for years for a number of reasons as I understood it (I lived there for over 8 years in the late 80s and through the 90s.)

1.) Schools. While people complain about school funding, Wisconsin has, in my opinion, some of the finest public school systems in the nation. Teacher compensation and retention is also very high, making the costs involved equally high. We always looked at it from the standpoint that the money we spent on taxes would go to private school tuition if we lived elsewhere, in order to get the same quality of instruction.

2.) Welfare. Wisconsin had, at one time, one of the most liberal welfare systems in the nation. The costs associated with the program came from taxpayer dollars. When Tommy Thompson was governor, he instituted the "workfare" program, which eliminated a lot of the dead wood from the system, although benefits, if you qualified, were still very good.

Much like other states, the lottery does little to displace some of the costs, as it was presented to do. As in Florida, Wisconsin legislators simply lowered the monies budgeted from the state and let the lottery proceeds offset the difference. "The lottery gave over a billion dollars to school funding!" you often hear, but what they don't tell you is that's a billion less than the state is kicking in. . .

Sadly, we saw a lot of retirees leave when we lived there, simply because they couldn't afford the increasing property taxes. While they had paid off their homes and had little debt, being on a fixed income, they couldn't handle the rapid increases that occurred in property taxes through the 90s.

To give you an idea, I lived in a 3,000 sf home we built on Lake Michigan north of Milwaukee in 1991. It cost us $120k to buy the land and build the house in 1991. We sold it for more than double that in 1996. When we left in 1996, the assessed value was $160k, and the taxes were over $5k/year. That makes for an escrow over over $400/month just for property taxes, to give you an idea of what the tax load does to your ability to afford a home.

I will say that the quality of life in Wisconsin is far above anywhere else I have lived. That can easily make it all worthwhile.

RM

[B'Goshboy]

Originally Posted by Atalanta

Hi

I was wondering the taxes for the state of Wisconsin.

I see property taxes run high

But, it that because state tax is low, or ????

Thanks

There is a state income tax of approx 5%, and a state sales tax of 5%.
Local communities have the ability to add on 1/2% sales tax.
There are local property taxes that pay for local schools, police, fire, libraries, parks and local government.

Wisconsin is in the top 10% of high tax states, but we get a lot for it.

[tattoojack]

Just go to the Tax Foundation web site, you'll see how bad Wisconsin is on taxes. If you like throwing your money away this is the place to be.

[Wi_Girl]

I moved from WI and am now looking to come back so this post was a help. I always knew WI had high property taxes. In VA where we live now, the property taxes are not bad compared to WI but people are still complaining as always. The house assesments are shooting through the roof though. Oh but then you have to consider the car tax that we have to pay every 6 months, the food tax every time we buy groceries. So I think it doesnt matter where you live. WI still has one of the lowest costs of living according to survey that CNBC did a few months back. VA was one of the highest. We make good money, but still cant afford to live here. Cant wait to come back home. I'll pay the high property taxes because the schools here are HORRIBLE and ghetto and I want my child to be in a good school and alot safer than here. You pay for what you get.

[LML]

Great schools
Good roads
Good quality of life

[EnjoyEP]

I love WI but the taxes are too high - and it isn't even close.

For every one that touts the great schools in WI...and in many areas of WI, there are just tremendous schools for the taxes, there is a system like Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) - terribly highly funded by tax dollars (the largest city in WI by far)...and some of the worst schools you can imagine. Just a terrible school system, yet money continues to be pumped into it.

I don't find the roads in WI to be better or worse than the average of any other state - northern or southern. They are fine...but they do not justify the property tax base.

Quality of life in WI I feel is very good - that is why I returned here to raise my family - however, I do not think that is a result of the ridiculous taxes. I think it is in spite of the taxes.

Tax dollars here are pumped into massive projects like Milwaukee's Deep Tunnel that doesn't work nearly well enough to justify its price. Retirees, young professionals, and businesses leave WI quite commonly because of the ridiculous taxes...so many Wisconsinites have never lived anywhere else, and they do not get that "global" perspective as to the harm the taxes do on the local populace/economy with all of the flight from the state of folks that otherwise would stay because of, again, the great quality of life.

I love WI and think that it is a great and underrated place to live - with a great quality of life - however, the taxes are a huge problem here and a drawback to living here for sure.

[northerner]

Originally Posted by Atalanta

Hi

I was wondering the taxes for the state of Wisconsin.

I see property taxes run high

But, it that because state tax is low, or ????

Thanks

Good public school in WI? According to Chance for Success 07--by Education Week, WI was not on top of the list (rank 8). MN (rank 3) was even better than WI, whereas WI property tax is almost double that of MN. VA rank on top.

State and local tax burden in WI in 07 is 12.3%, which make WI #7 in the nation. State, local and federal tax burden for WI this year is 33.3%, which make WI #13 in the nation. Tax is on the rise for WI since 2003.

Property tax in WI is among the highest in the nation. It's collected in both state and local levels.

WI is among the safest places to live in the nation.

Good luck.

[adam76]

Previous posts all have made good points. One thing I would like to point out is location makes a big difference for property taxes. I have been looking at houses in Waukesha County. A house ~250-275K in the TOWN of Pewaukee had taxes in the mid 3K's, while a similar valued house in the CITY of Pewaukee was in the mid 5K's. Of course there is a difference of city services (well vs city water etc). This is only one data point for sure, but it is hard to generalize the tax burden for the entire state.

Wisconsin's tax "burden" is high because the state lags in personal income. Also we have a disproportionately low number of wealthy people, spreading the tax burden further to everyone else.

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