Our View: Wisconsin drops from Top 10

Talk about it

After years of being among the nation’s top taxing states, Wisconsin has finally dropped out of the infamous “Top 10” list.

According to a recent study, Wisconsin is now 11th in the nation when it comes to the overall tax burden.

When 39 other states still outpace our state, it doesn’t seem like a huge celebration is in order.

But Wisconsin has been among the Top 10 taxing states for more than 50 years. Any progress toward the bottom of the list is a step in the right direction.

To be fair, it must be noted that Wisconsin’s gain is at the expense of other states. Seems taxes have been going up at a faster pace in places like Louisiana, New Mexico and New Jersey.

Taxes in the state went up in 2006, the year used for the most recent national ranking, but only slightly.

The ranking is determined by adding state and local taxes together, then comparing the total to personal income.

Using that formula, Wisconsin’s tax burden grew from 12.1 percent of personal income to 12.3 percent that year.

That compares favorably with the national average of 11.6 percent.

What’s Wisconsin doing to put a lid on taxes?

State government costs have been reduced under the guiding hand of Gov. Jim Doyle. Local tax levies have been limited due to Legislative action to cap annual increases. And income and sales tax increases have been avoided, even though economic times have resulted in less revenue for the state.

It will be a challenge to continue to chip away at the burden on our state’s taxpayers. But if legislators, and local leaders can continue to show spending restraint, maybe we can slip even further down the list in years to come.

Tags: opinion, taxes, top, 10, list