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Effects of the Revenue
Caps on Wisconsin's
School Districts,
1997-98 School Year |
Property Taxes in Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s property taxes are among the nation’s highest.
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau concludes that an important reason for
this situation is that property taxes represent the primary source of
revenue for local governments in the state.(2)
In addition, since 1970, residential and commercial property owners
have borne an increasing share of property taxes, while owners of
other forms of property, particularly manufacturing and agricultural,
have seen a decline. For example, in 1970, residential property
accounted for 50.6% of net property taxes. That figure reached 64% in
1996. In contrast, manufacturing property, which accounted for 17.7%
of the net property taxes in 1970, now represents approximately 5% of
the total. Among the reasons for this shift in tax burden is
legislation passed in 1974 which exempted manufacturers’
machinery and equipment (M&E) from local property taxes.(3)
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