Wisconsin taxpayers pay less in 2009

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In 2009 Wisconsin residents gave their governments the smallest percentage of their incomes in almost 40 years, according to the state's Taxpayers Alliance.

The alliance said federal, state and local taxes accounted for almost 29% of the state's total personal income last year. That's down by almost 5% from 2008, and it's the lowest tax-to-income ratio since 1970.

The tax alliance said the recession caused total tax collections in the state to drop from almost $70 billion in 2008 to just over $61 billion last year. Meanwhile, personal incomes kept rising by about 2.5%, and they totaled $212 billion in 2009.

But Taxpayers Alliance analyst Kyle Christianson said taxes as a share of income could go up this year as tax increases passed in the current state budget take effect while unemployment pressures continue.

Tags: news, wisconsin, taxes