Taxes - Spring 2003

 

A strong majority of state residents believes spending on fire protection, police protection, garbage collection, parks, and recreational opportunities is at about the right level.
Half of respondents, however, would accept a reduction in funding for parks and other recreational activities.
Residents are evenly divided, 38% to 38%, between a choice to raise taxes to maintain services or to cut services to avoid property tax increases.
A majority of state residents says they would oppose a property tax freeze it if meant a cut in funding for public education (60%), fire protection (64%), or police protection (62%).
Summary Dissatisfaction with property taxes has dropped slightly from 52% in 2002 to 45% in 2003. Respondents are satisfied with the level of basic services and they do not want cuts in local services. Although taxes have long been an issue of top concern and sometimes urgency, residents of Wisconsin are slightly less critical of their tax burden in 2003 than they were in 2002. More importantly, maintaining police and fire protection services is a top priority, and with property tax increases as a tradeoff, fewer than half (38%) of respondents would choose to cut local services.