Homeowners' tax increase burden estimated at 4.2 percent

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Homeowners may not suffer as much as critics fear under the new state budget.

The non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau says the average local property tax bill in December will go up by 3.3 percent or $93 on a home assessed at $167,000.

The average tax bill is $2 more than what Gov. Jim Doyle proposed in February when he first unveiled his budget plan. And it’s $11 less the following year.

The Fiscal Bureau says the 2010 tax bills will average $123 more than the previous year.

That increase would be around 4.2 percent.

Critics say the ending of the QEO limits on teacher salaries will cause property taxes to jump especially since schools are getting less state aid.

The Fiscal Bureau also cites other measures that will boost local taxes like lower state recycling grants and modified revenue limits.

But lawmakers also increased the first-dollar credit in both years of the budget, with the idea of keeping local taxes at or below that Doyle first proposed.

Tags: property taxes, wisconsin, homeowners