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Milwaukee County has the highest county sales tax in Wisconsin at 0.9%.

Every other county with a sales tax charges 0.5% on top of the statewide 5% rate.

Two counties – Waukesha and Winnebago – do not have a sales tax, according to a chart from the state Department of Revenue.

The city of Milwaukee is currently the only city with its own sales tax of 2%. Both the 0.9% county rate and 2% city rate went into effect Jan. 1, 2024.

Separately, Milwaukee has tourism-related taxes that support the Wisconsin Center District, including a 0.5% rate for restaurant meals.

The 0.9% county and 2% city sales taxes stem from a bipartisan 2023 law that sought to help Milwaukee avoid a financial crisis.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, the Democratic nominee for governor, signed the county-level legislation that put the 0.9% tax into effect. 

This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• Wisconsin Department of Revenue: Tax Rate FAQs
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee convention hotel plan advances, could boost tourism
• Wisconsin Department of Revenue: Local Exposition Taxes
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Gov. Tony Evers signs bill to keep Milwaukee financially stable, boosting funding to local governments
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Legislature passes bill aimed at averting Milwaukee financial crisis, lifting aid to local governments
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley signs 0.4% sales tax increase

Does Milwaukee County have the highest sales tax in Wisconsin? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Wisconsin state government is not spending $2 billion on data centers.

The campaign website of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong stated that Wisconsin is “spending over $2 billion in public money” on data centers “this year.”  

The statement linked to a Wisconsin Watch news article, which is based on a Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo.

The article made clear that the $2 billion is forgone revenue, not an expenditure. The LFB estimated the state will forgo $2 billion in revenue over a period of years because data centers are exempt from paying state sales tax.

It’s unclear whether the three artificial intelligence data centers under construction in Wisconsin would have been built without the tax incentive, which most states offer.

Some states are rolling back the exemptions or imposing requirements for receiving them.

Texas’ Republican governor has called for elimination; Ohio’s GOP governor and Arizona’s 2027 budget paused exemptions.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• FrancescaHong.com: Data Centers and AI
• Wisconsin Watch: Wisconsin data center tax break to cost state more than $2 billion
• Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau: Sales Tax Exemption for WEDC Certified Data Centers
• Wisconsin Department of Revenue: Qualified Data Center Exemption
• Texas Tribune: Abbott recommends sweeping data center regulation, including eliminating sales tax exemption
• Ohio Governor's Office: Governor DeWine Announces Pause of Data Center Tax Exemption
• Bloomberg Tax: Arizona Data Center Tax Incentive Pause Signed by Governor Hobbs

Is Wisconsin state government spending $2 billion on data centers? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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A 2023-25 budget provision granting a sales tax exemption to data centers was passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in July 2023. 

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau said in March that the tax break will cost the state more than $2 billion in sales tax revenue, mostly from massive data centers in Beaver Dam, Port Washington and Mount Pleasant. When the budget was approved in July 2023, hyperscale data centers were so new the fiscal bureau didn’t estimate how much an exemption would affect state tax collections.

While the high cost has drawn scrutiny, the incentive was originally designed to drive economic growth. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 38 states offer tax incentives on data centers.

Wisconsin has about 50 data centers, largely in the Milwaukee and Madison areas.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• Wisconsin Watch: Wisconsin data center tax break to cost state more than $2 billion
• Legislative Fiscal Bureau: 2023-25 Wisconsin State Budget
• Data Center Map: Wisconsin Data Centers
• National Conference of State Legislatures: Subsidizing Servers: How States Are Competing to Attract Data Centers

Was a Wisconsin data centers tax break put in place solely by Gov. Tony Evers?  is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.