(The Center Square) – Wisconsin saw a 2.1% increase in its general sales and use tax collections in the first quarter of the new fiscal year in numbers released Thursday.
The state collected more than $1.32 billion after collecting $1.29 billion during the same period last year. The numbers represent collections from July through September.
Overall, the state collected an adjusted amount of $4.15 billion in general purpose revenue during the first quarter, up from $3.97 billion in the first quarter of last fiscal year.
Wisconsin collected $21.3 billion last fiscal year, ending in June, after collecting nearly $21 billion the year before.
The numbers represent a continuation of a trend of slowed growth in sales tax revenue for the state in the post-COVID timeframe.
The state collected $2.73 billion in state sales taxes over the first five months of 2024, a 0.4% increase over the $2.72 billion in the same five months the year before, according to Wisconsin Policy Forum.
“The retail sector contributes the largest amount in sales tax revenues by far,” the group said in July. “In calendar year 2023, Wisconsin reported a total of $7.22 billion in sales tax revenues; $3.47 billion of that – or 48.0% – came from retail. Consequently, even though growth in the retail sector was limited (0.6%), that growth accounts for almost the entirety of sales tax revenue growth in Wisconsin during the first five months of 2024.”
Corporate taxes were up 2.8% year over year for the first quarter of the new fiscal year while excise tax was down 2.7% and individual income tax collections were up an adjusted 6.7%.
