(The Center Square) – Business owners in Wisconsin are concerned that the state is not headed in the right direction while 71% reported an increase in the property tax bill for their owned or leased commercial property over the past year with 1% seeing a decrease.

The employer survey from the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce is conducted twice a year with 200 respondents.

“It’s no wonder employers say Wisconsin is headed the wrong way: we’re already among the highest-taxed states in the nation, with top-10 individual and property tax burdens and a top-12 corporate tax burden,” Kurt R. Bauer, WMC President/CEO, said in a statement. “Property taxes are a punishing fixed cost, owed whether a business is just starting out, expanding, or struggling. With Governor Evers’ 400-year autopilot increase, Wisconsin is on track to climb even higher.”

Gov. Tony Evers used the current veto power to erase numbers and a hyphen to change the year “2024-25” to “2425” in a school appropriation in the budget bill.

That meant a $325 per student per year funding increase for the next 400 years was allowed and later upheld in a 4-3 ruling from the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

In the Nov. 3 election, Wisconsin voters will have the chance to end the governor’s partial veto power with a referendum to block a partial veto to “create or increase or authorize the creation or increase of any tax or fee.”

The survey also showed that 71% of employers favor ending the state’s personal income tax while 46% said that they strongly support the idea with just 14% say that they oppose it.

The employers weren’t asked if the state’s budget would decrease or another tax would be added in its place.

“Some states roll out the red carpet for businesses; others roll out the red tape,” Bauer said in a statement. “Wisconsin taxes 95% of its businesses through the individual income tax rate—what many rightly call a ‘small business tax’—hitting them with one of the highest top rates in the country. If Wisconsin seeks to attract investment, businesses, and talent, we must reform our tax climate to make it more competitive with neighboring states and those across the country. More red carpet—less red tape.”