Because Our Taxes Aren’t High Enough

Good thing everyone else is increasing taxes too.  Otherwise, this would seem unusual. 

The December property tax bill on a median-valued Wisconsin home would go up by $91 - or 3.2% - under Gov. Jim Doyle’s proposed state budget, legislators were told Wednesday.

It was the first estimate of what Doyle’s two-year budget, which includes $1.7 billion in tax and fee increases, would also cost homeowners. When the governor introduced his budget on Feb. 17, his budget advisers said changes in December property tax bills would vary widely, depending on how local school districts used federal stimulus money.

In a memo to legislators, Fiscal Bureau Director Bob Lang estimated that the tax bill on the median-valued home would rise to $2,947 this December and increase another $134 - or 4.5% - in December 2010. The median-valued home is expected to be assessed at $166,685 this year, a drop of 3% because of the recession.