As a percentage of income…

MADISON—Wisconsin’s tax burden in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2018 fell to its lowest level in nearly 50 years, according to a new report by the nonpartisan, independent Wisconsin Policy Forum.

In the latest edition of The Wisconsin Taxpayer, “State and Local Tax Burden Falls,” WPF researchers found Wisconsin’s tax burden dropped to 10.5% this year from 10.6% last year. The tax burden, defined as state and local taxes as a share of income, has declined every year since 2011, when it was 11.7%. The 2018 share marks the lowest year on record in WPF data going back to 1970.

As in recent years, the decline was driven primarily by personal income rising faster than state and local tax collections. State and local tax revenues rose 2.3% in fiscal year 2018, while federal tax collections in Wisconsin grew 0.7%. The tax burden fell “mainly because total personal income grew more quickly at 3.6%,” the report notes.

Thank you Governor Walker and the Republicans in the legislature.