Taxes -  Fall 2003

 

Overall, respondents have been consistent in their views of taxes over the past year. In 2002, 51% of respondents were dissatisfied with the amount they pay for property taxes and 52% were dissatisfied with the level of state taxes. Now those numbers are 49% and 50%, respectively.
In spite of a great deal of public debate and publicity  about funding public education, 62% of state residents report that they are currently satisfied with the amount they pay for public education.
While strong majorities say they are willing to pay an additional $100 per year in property taxes for certain programs such as teacher training, smaller class sizes, and core curriculums, only one person in five (22%) would choose to continue to use property taxes to support public education. Two in five prefer to use a combination of property taxes and other funding sources. One third wants to substitute alternative sources of revenue for property taxes.
Half of state residents think the University of Wisconsin is doing a fair or a poor job of managing costs. They say that the Board of Regents (28%) and the State Legislature (20%) should be primarily responsible for managing the costs of the University System, but no one entity has the endorsement of more than about one person in four.
Summary With concerns about the economy, jobs, and health care costs as a context, state residents’ attitudes about property taxes and state income taxes have not changed and, indeed, they express higher satisfaction with the amount they pay for public education. Residents appear willing to provide additional support for educational programs they believe are important.