Property taxes jump 3.8%, most in 3 years

Steven Walters:

The property tax bill on the typical Wisconsin home rose 3.8% last year - the biggest increase in three years, officials said Monday.

But fall levy limits on local governments, more state aid and slowing home values should prevent another boost like that this December, they said.

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau told legislators that property taxes on the median-valued home, which was assessed at $170,305 last year, totaled $2,838 - a $105 increase over the previous year. In each of the previous two years, the increase was less than 1%.

The $105 increase was up by about $10 from what lawmakers and Gov. Jim Doyle expected in October when they adopted the current state budget.

But the 3.8% increase was more than the inflation rate last year, which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated at 2.8%.

State Budget Director Dave Schmiedicke said he expects the owner of a typical Wisconsin home to open a December tax bill that will go up less than 1%, which he called "a very small increase."

Related Links:

• Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance:

  Compared to the prior year (fiscal 2005), Wisconsin taxes were up slightly, from 12.1% to 12.3% of income, but the 50-state rank fell from eighth to 11th. The state’s tax burden was 5.5% above the U.S. average (11.6%). Since the late 1950s (see diagram, over), the Badger State’s tax burden and rankings have ranged from lows of 9.7% (1958) and 18th (1960) to highs of 15.8% (1973) and first (1964).

• Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau Memorandum - 32K PDF. TJ Mertz comments on the tax increase.
• Channel3000:

  Taxes paid to schools are by far the largest chunk of a homeowner's tax bill. They increased 7.4 percent this year.
  The next two largest parts of a tax bill also went up: Municipal tax levies increased 5 percent, and county levies grew 4.5 percent.

• K-12 Tax & Spending Climate
• New York Governor proposes 4% cap on annual school property tax increases.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at June 4, 2008 4:33 AM
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