Milwaukee County officials recommend voting to pass a 0.4% sales tax

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Shortly after Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson signed a 2% city sales tax into law, a special joint Milwaukee County Board committee met Monday morning and ultimately voted to recommend an approval on an additional 0.4% county tax increase.

According to local leaders, an approaching fiscal cliff would force Milwaukee County to cut about 40% of services and a quarter of the workforce. If they wait past September to vote and approve, the new tax wouldn't begin until at least April of 2024 - which would be a loss of millions of dollars in revenue.

Without this additional revenue, Milwaukee County faces a $109 million deficit by 2028.

Opponents argued the tax increase will further the wealth disparity in our communities; though advocates said this may very well be the only solution they have to deal with such a large deficit.

Some suggested that even without the new tax proposals, the poorest households are paying seven times more of their budget than the richest households and fear that an additional sales tax will make matters worse.

"Neglecting to adopt the 0.4% sales tax will exacerbate in the quality because the county will be forced to eliminate critical services from mental health and substance services, housing services, senior services, transit and public safety, and parks," said Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson.

In addition, as the county grows as a destination site for many tourists, advocates of the proposal also mentioned that a sales tax would ensure visitors pay their fair share as well. around a third of the tax would be from out of county payments.

Town halls will be offered to the public for feedback on the matter until a final vote is expected to take place Thursday, July 27. If approved, they expect to implement the sales tax increase starting Jan. 1, 2024.