Taxes

Tax		Rate
Corporate Income (flat Rate)		7.9%
Apportionment 100% based on sales
Sales/Use		5%
Manufacturing machinery		Exempt
Pollution controls equipment		Exempt
Materials consumed		Exempt
Manufacturing energy		100% tax credit
Property Tax		2.211%
Computer equipment		Exempt
Manufacturing machinery and equipment		Exempt
Manufacturing inventories		Exempt
Merchant's inventories		Exempt
Pollution controls equipment		Exempt
Unemployment Compensation
New employers (3 yrs.), payroll <$500,000		3.05%
New employers (3 yrs.), payroll >$500,000		3.25%
Base		$10,500
Minimum/Maximum		0% - 9.75%
FUTA Penalty		0%
Workers Compensation (actual cost per $100 of payroll)
Average		$3.75
Personal Income
$0 - $10,630		4.60%
$10,631 - $132,259		6.15%
$132,260 - $153,249		6.50%
$153,250+		6.75%
Capital Gains		60% exclusion
Capital Stock - New Worth Tax		None

Corporate Income Tax – 7.9% tax on the income of the corporation; rate has not been changed in the past 20 years.  Beginning in 2006, a 'single-sales' apportionment formula will be phased in over a 3-year period resulting in less tax burden. The change will result in corporate tax savings of more than $45M for Wisconsin companies.

Single-Sales Factor Tax Treatment on Taxable Income – Benefits a multi-state company with greater sales outside of WI in that less of its income would be apportioned to Wisconsin vs. outside states.

Wisconsin Workers' Compensation – Premium rates are among the lowest in the country; Risk and Insurance, a national trade magazine, has called Wisconsin "a worker's comp utopia." The national Worker's Compensation Research Institute has concluded that Wisconsin has "the lowest rate of requests for litigation of any state we have studied" because "management and labor control the system thorough a labor and management advisory council." Wisconsin's worker's compensation rates typically provide significant savings over those of neighboring states.  See Worker's Compensation Insurance Rate Comparisons (PDF) for sample numbers.

Unemployment Compensation – employers paid the lowest possible unemployment compensation (U.C.) taxes in 2004 for the 13th straight year.  The average Wisconsin employer in 2003 paid 2.2% of taxable wages in U.C., below the national average.

Sales/Use Tax – Wisconsin imposes a 5% tax on the sale or use of tangible personal property that is not specifically exempted from the tax. 

Individual Income Tax – Wisconsin's individual income tax, to a large extent, conforms to the federal personal income tax base, and ranges from 4.6% to 6.75%. 

Other Tax Benefits to Encourage Investment:

• 60% exclusion for long-term capital gains (a provision that saved Wisconsin taxpayers $180M in FY02)
• 100% exclusion of the capital gains from the sale of stock in eligible Wisconsin small businesses if held for more than 5 years.

Changes in Wisconsin's incorporation law have caused a number of state companies to reincorporate in Wisconsin from Delaware. Wisconsin has the most up-to-date law on the books and does not charge a franchising fee.

Property tax rates declined significantly, from $19.64 in 2004-05 to $18.36 per $1,000 in property value in 2005-06.

Property tax exemptions for:

• Manufacturing machinery and equipment
• Computers and computer equipment
• Inventories and pollution-control equipment

Other tax incentives:

• Tax credits for energy used in manufacturing and for R & D
• 60-percent capital gains exclusion
• No inheritance and gift taxes
• No unitary tax on foreign-owned corporations
• Single-sales factor tax treatment adopted
• Sales tax exemption for energy used in manufacturing