Tax collections are up in Wisconsin, but a new report shows that the impact on taxpayers actually went down last year.
Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance president Todd Berry says state and local governments collected nearly $27 billion in taxes last year, which is an increase of 3.2 percent. The tax burden fell slightly though because personal incomes rose by 4.5 percent, which means fewer people felt the impact of those higher taxes on the money they bring home.
Berry says the relief came largely from local governments, which only saw tax collections increase by an average of about a half percent. State taxes collections went up almost five percent.
Berry notes that state and local taxes come from very different sources. The state relies largely on income and sales taxes, which typically increase as the economy goes up. Local governments draw primarily on property taxes, which face strict limits on increases that have been imposed by the state.
AUDIO: Todd Berry (:22)
Berry says federal taxes proved to be a much bigger burden for many Badger State residents, with Wisconsinites paying nearly $40 billion to the federal government last year.
Rick Schuh, WHBY