State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Report: Milwaukee is sole midwestern city of its size with property tax as only form of local taxation

American City and County: A new report from the Public Policy Forum shows that Brew City has a rather unique financial structure compared to cities of similar sizes.

The report, “On the Money? On the Money? The City of Milwaukee's Uncommon Revenue Structure and How it Compares to Peer Cities,” found that Wisconsin is the only Midwestern state that only allows cities to have property taxes as the major form of local taxation, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Moreover, it’s one of the only states whose largest municipality — Milwaukee in this case — has the same tax structure that other cities in the state have.

As a result, Milwaukee’s revenue stream is heavily reliant on the Wisconsin government’s shared revenue payments, Milwaukee public radio station WUWM reports.

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