MADISON—"If there is a property tax ‘revolt’ brewing in Wisconsin, the epicenter is the urban/suburban southeast." That is the conclusion of a new study from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX), "The Pulse of Property Tax Discontent." The report is the second in a three-part WISTAX series on property taxes in Wisconsin.

WISTAX identifies the 50 municipalities in the state where estimated 2004 property taxes on a median-valued home were highest relative to income. In every case, taxes exceeded 7% of income. Leading the pack, with property taxes reaching 10% of income, was the city of Cudahy in southern Milwaukee county. There, the owner of a "typical" home would have paid $3,582 in total property taxes on an average income of $35,860. WISTAX income measure was average adjusted gross income from income tax returns.

Cudahy was not alone, however. WISTAX notes that the seven municipalities with the highest levies relative to income were all in Milwaukee county; the other six were West Allis (9.5%), Shorewood (9.3%), Greenfield and Hales Corners (both 9.1%), and Milwaukee and St. Francis (both 8.9%). All told, 14 of the top 50 municipalities were in the county, and almost half (21) were either in Milwaukee or one of the four adjoining counties in the metro area.

[Editor’s note: Property tax burdens for every municipality in Wisconsin over 5,000 in population are available at www.wistax.org/facts.]

The other part of the state where the property tax burden was high was Dane county, according to WISTAX. The city and town of Madison led the area with property taxes at 8.8% and 8.2% of income, respectively. Five suburbs surrounding Madison also made the top-50 list: McFarland and Mt. Horeb (both 7.4%); Sun Prairie (7.3%); and DeForest and Stoughton (both 7.1%).

Several cities outside Dane County, but within commuting distance, also had high levies relative to income: Baraboo (7.6%) and Portage (7.4%) to the north; Jefferson (7.7%) and Fort Atkinson (7.3%) to the east; and Edgerton (7.3%) to the south.

"Conspicuous by their absence," report author and WISTAX President Todd A. Berry observes, "are municipalities in the northeast, north and much of the west." The only major top-50 city in these regions was La Crosse (7.5%). In fact, there were only two municipalities on the list in counties north of a line from La Crosse to Sheboygan: River Falls (7.4%) and Menominee (8.3%).

In a separate part of the report, WISTAX notes that the property tax-to-income ratio is much like a political "heart monitor." When property taxes relative to income climb above 4%, discontent begins to grow. The study cited several periods in the postwar era when property taxes were unusually high and led to a major change, either in politics or in policy-making. Most recently, this occurred in 1993-94, when property taxes completed a 14-year rise, hitting 4.8% of income. Then, a bipartisan majority in state government imposed school revenue limits and first committed the state to providing two-thirds of local schools’ revenues.

The third part of the three-part WISTAX property tax series will be released in mid-July and will compare property tax burdens on various kinds of property in Wisconsin and other states. WISTAX is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to public-policy research and citizen education.

For a free copy of the Focus titled "The Pulse of Property Tax Discontent," write WISTAX, 401 North Lawn Ave., Madison, WI 53704-5033; e-mail wistax@wistax.org; visit www.wistax.org; or phone 608-241-9789. o

50 Highest-Tax Municipalities, 2004-05
Net Prop. Taxes as Pct. Adj. Gross Income
Number of Muni’s by County