31 trade and business associations have come out with a proposal to repeal Wisconsin's personal property tax.
Coalition spokesperson Michelle Kussow of the Wisconsin Grocers Association says items like store coolers and other property in stores is also taxed. They feel this has developed into a burdensome tax....
".....it has become a very large expense for a lot of small businesses. It has become an issue on the top of the grocers priority list for several decades. We decided to pull together a coalition and make it a priority issue...."
Kussow says the personal property tax was placed on the tangible person property of a business. The tax is assessed and collected by local governments and is in addition to the real estate property tax. The tax has existed since 1849 as part of Wisconsin's original tax laws, but has seen many exceptions
. The local government assesses the tax and keeps the revenue. Kussow says the legislature will have to come up with a method to make the local governments whole if this tax is repealed. She says the legislature has done that with the exceptions placed into the tax law.
