Wisconsin no longer a Top 10

Talk about it

Wisconsin has finally achieved a goal politicians have wanted for a long time - to get out of the top 10 bracket of most-taxed states.

Recently released U.S. Census Bureau figures show that in 2006 Wisconsin dropped to No. 11 in the category of the most state and local taxes.

In 2004, Wisconsin was ranked No. 5, and fell to No. 7 in 2005.

However, the reason why Wisconsin is out of the Top 10 is not because of lower taxes, which actually increased last year.

According to Todd Berry, Wisconsin Taxpayer's Alliance president, the rankings are figured by adding the state and local taxes and comparing those to personal income.

"Our taxes as a share of income actually went up from 12.1 percent to 12.3 percent," said Berry.

Berry said the reason Wisconsin fell out of the Top 10 was because of changes in other states, primarily Louisiana, New Mexico and New Jersey which all saw their rankings jump, primarily due to higher tax burdens there.

"Louisiana went up nine places," Berry said.

One area lawmaker said Wisconsin needs to pay attention as to why the state's ranking dropped.

"I think it is important to realize we got here because other states turned to increasing taxes, while we've been successful in blocking tax increases," said Sen. Sheila Harsdorf, R-River Falls, in reacting to the latest ranking.

Harsdorf added that in current economic times people are struggling and increasing taxes would only take more money out of the local economies.

Rep. Barb Gronemus, D-Whitehall, who represents the 91st Assembly District which includes parts of Pierce County, says that in the future the lawmakers need to pay attention to their votes.

"They need to watch how they vote and what they spend and where they get the money from," said Gronemus, who is retiring from the Assembly after this session.

Gronemus spoke to a RiverTown reporter from the entrance to the Assembly chamber just prior to a failed vote to override Gov. Jim Doyle's veto of a measure that would have prevented taking money out of the transportation fund to plug other budget holes.

The longtime lawmaker said to keep spending down the Legislature needs to make changes so that money included in one bill can't be transferred to another use.

"The intent of the bill's author has to be followed by the lawyers who actually word the bill so that the money can't be taken from one pot and then put into another," Gronemus said.

Berry noted that while the drop in the ranking is good for perception, things really haven't changed.

He pointed out that Wisconsin still remains No. 9 in property taxes and No. 15 in income taxes.

"If you are a Wisconsin citizen you've got to take this with a grain of salt," Berry said.

Contact Brady Bautch at internet@rivertowns.net

Tags: wisconsin, news, top, 10, taxes