The hits just keep on coming.
WBAY Excerpt:
Wisconsin has some of the highest real estate property taxes in the nation according to newly released survey data.
In Wisconsin, the effective real-estate tax rate is 1.97 percent, meaning that on a home valued at $176,000 the owner would pay $3,266 annually in property taxes. The WalletHub analysis revealed that Wisconsin property owners pay the fourth-highest taxes in the nation - while the state’s median home value falls firmly in the middle of the pack.
Compare that to a homeowner in Virginia, where the tax rate is .80 percent. An owner of a property valued at $176,000 in Virginia would pay $1,941 annually in property taxes.
Believe it or not. In Janesville, home owners are demanding yet higher property taxes if we are to believe the rhetoric from a cross-section of candidates running for three open seats in the seven member city council.
Despite raising a new municipal vehicle tax this year for street maintenance and a Forward Janesville led administration locking up most of the city's new future revenue growth to fund corporate welfare, a majority of candidates spoke about their desire to raise income-blind taxes higher through referendum at a recent forum. Grover Norquist would approve.
Apparently the goal in Janesville is raising regressive fees and property taxes high enough to prevent the Scott Walker induced death spiral from taking hold.
The report from market-based WalletHub comes as the latest in a series of reports showing income decline, rising poverty and a widening wealth gap compounded by shifting heavier tax obligations on those with less - is more than just public perception - but the reality from a slew of misguided state and local economic policies.
ADDITIONAL:
Kauffman Index - Wisconsin ranks 50th in new business startups in 2015
2 comments:
Your comment on property taxes is confusing. The property tax is far less regressive than the sales tax. It is one tax that has to be paid by the wealthy who spend a portion of the year living elsewhere while paying nothing in sales tax and using loopholes to lower their income tax.
All taxes except the income tax are regressive. I agree that all regressive taxes are not equal, but the property tax is a trickle down tax that everyone with a roof over their head shares in and pays.
The property tax though is very troubling since locals do not have a progressive income tax to draw from, they are left with only regressive taxes like the property tax, sales taxes and fees, etc. to draw from to pay the bills. As a government watcher, my ears get pinned back and my eyes refocus when I see any shift toward income-blind taxes that creates a heavier burden on those with less or fixed incomes, particularly shifts that are deliberately created at the state level to coerce locals to restore funds that were once paid through income tax collected state aid. At this stage in Wisconsin, I think we're way out of balance with our revenue sources and spending priorities compounded by no effort on anyone’s part to raise or restore progressive taxes .
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