Sales tax has returned to residential electric bills around Wisconsin.
- Sales tax is charged on residential electric and natural gas bills in Wisconsin from May through October
- The bills are sales tax-free from November through April
- State Sen. Andre Jacque (R - De Pere) previously introduced bills to eliminate the tax year-round; the bills did not pass.
We are now in the time of the year where Wisconsinites will pay sales tax on residential electricity bills.
"I don't like it," Linda Swisher, of De Pere, said of the returning tax.
Statewide, there is sales tax on electric and natural gas bills for six months from May through October.
"I'm a senior citizen, so every dollar I can save, yes, I would appreciate [the tax] not being on there," Swisher said.
In every Wisconsin county in our viewing area, the sales tax is 5.5 percent, except Manitowoc and Winnebago counties, where it is 5 percent.
Republican State Sen. Andre Jacque from De Pere has introduced bills that would eliminate this tax on electric and natural gas bills. The bills did not pass.
"Anything that is going to help with some of those household expenses, this is something that really has had very broad-based support," Jacque said.
"Hopefully it's just an idea whose time is still coming."
Electric and natural gas bills during the six months from November through April are already sales tax-free.
State estimates say Wisconsin would lose $100M per year if this specific tax went away entirely.
The next bill where customers will not see that sales tax on electricity or natural gas bills is the one that arrives in November.
