5.17.23. Junjie Guo, Kim Ruhl and Ananth Seshadri. In this report we evaluate five options to lower the income tax rates in Wisconsin, which are higher than the rates in most other states.
Fiscal Policy
The Economic Impact of Lowering Income Tax Rates in Wisconsin
2.24.23. Junjie Guo, Kim J. Ruhl and Ananth Seshadri. This CROWE report presents a model of the Wisconsin economy and its tax system, and shows that reducing the state’s individual income tax rates will increase output and household consumption significantly.
Wisconsin’s Sales Tax Regressivity
11.1.22. Junjie Guo and Kim J. Ruhl. It is widely believed that sales taxes are regressive: The total sales tax paid by a low-income household represents a greater share of its income compared with a high-income household.
Fundamental State Tax Reform: Eliminating the Income Tax in Wisconsin
12.16.21. Noah Williams. The state of Wisconsin has the oldest continuously operating state income tax in the United States. In this report I develop and analyze a plan to dramatically change that history.
The Wisconsin State Sales Tax
11.11.21. Noah Williams. In addition to income taxes, which were discussed in my previous brief, the other main source of general purpose revenue for the state of Wisconsin is the general sales tax.
The Wisconsin State Income Tax
11.4.21. Noah Williams. The state of Wisconsin has the oldest continuously operating state income tax in the United States. In this brief I discuss some of the history and background of the state income tax, as well as the current distribution of taxes and effective tax rates.
The Evolution and Impacts of the State Corporate Tax Structure: 2011-2020
9.8.21. Junjie Guo, Noah Williams, Zhuoer Ren, and Qi Yang. We study how the state corporate tax rate and 15 measures of the state corporate tax base have been evolving since 1980, with a particular focus on changes in the last decade.
Middle Income Tax Reform Options for Wisconsin
6.22.21. Junjie Guo and Noah Williams. As an amendment to our initial report on June 17 titled “Middle Income Tax Reform Options for Wisconsin”, we evaluate the potential impacts of cutting the third income tax rate from 6.27% to 5.3%, a proposal approved by the Joint Committee on Finance on the same day.
The Distribution of Income and Income Taxes in Wisconsin
3.19.21. Noah Williams. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue has recently released some summary statistics from Wisconsin state income tax returns, covering the years 2014-2019. These data provide insight on the distribution of income and income taxes in the state.
State and Local Government Revenue During the COVID-19 Pandemic
2.12.21. Noah Williams. While the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic put stress on the budgets of state and local governments around the country, their tax revenues have since rebounded. In addition, the federal government has already allocated substantial aid to these governments, which has more than offset the losses they have suffered.