The Waukesha County Business Alliance on Wednesday announced that it opposes a 0.5% county sales tax proposed by County Executive Paul Farrow.
The Wisconsin sales tax is 5%. Waukesha County currently does not have a sales tax. Under Farrow’s proposal a 0.5% county sales tax would begin on July 1, 2025. Annual sales tax collections for the county could reach $60 million.
“With costs already soaring, now is not the time to put additional burden on Waukesha County families and job creators,” said Waukesha County Business Alliance president and chief executive officer Amanda Payne.
Farrow says the funds would be used to reduce property taxes and eliminate its annual budget shortfall, which he blames largely on a lack of state funding.
“Since 2006, our revenue has been constrained by state law, and it has not kept pace with the rising costs of providing essential services,” Farrow’s office said in announcing the sales tax plan. “Each year, county residents contribute approximately $1.5 billion in sales and income taxes to the state government in Madison. In return, our county receives just $60 million in state aid, ranking us as the second lowest in per capita state aid among Wisconsin counties. County governments are an extension of the state, tasked with implementing and enforcing state laws and regulations. Ideally, the state should fully fund the cost of these mandated services. Unfortunately, it has consistently fallen short of this obligation. In the upcoming 2025 Waukesha County Budget, approximately 44% or about $51 million of the revenue collected from county property taxpayers will be allocated to cover the state’s funding shortfall.”
The Waukesha County Business Alliance is calling on the county to find other ways to address its budgetary challenges.
“This proposal is too much, too fast, and we call on the county to re-evaluate the tax plan,” Payne said.
The debate over a Waukesha County sales tax comes after Milwaukee County and the city of Milwaukee increased their sales taxes at the beginning of this year. Milwaukee County’s sales tax rose 0.4% and the city of Milwaukee added a 2% sales tax, which meant that the sales tax in the city rose to 7.9% while it rose to 5.9% in Milwaukee County suburbs.
