4 days ago
Wyoming state senator proposes eliminating property taxes
CHEYENNE, Wyoming () — It's been a busy week for the . They spent hours listening to dozens of testimonies from county assessors to homeowners alike; many addressed the confusion and issues surrounding existing property tax laws, including three newly implemented tax breaks. During one of the meetings, Sen. Bob Ide (R-Casper) proposed getting rid of property taxes altogether.
'It's not fair. It's the wrong system,' Sen. Ide said while discussing the hidden costs Americans pay for lawmakers' decisions in Washington D.C. However, that isn't the only system he said needs to see change.
'We've got caps, we've got refunds, we've got sunsets, we've got primary residences, we've got minimum eight months, we've got camas system, we've got business and personal property, we've got pollution control, we've got fire control exemptions,' stated Ide to highlight the complexities of the Wyoming property tax system.
'For the common person to understand what their property taxes are you'd have to hire teachers to bring them in there,' Ide added.
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For Crook County Assessor Dan Thomas, confusion surrounding property taxes is all too common. He told ABC4 that one of the biggest things that needs to happen is the dissemination of information to property owners 'to understand the entire process and understand that they're not singled out, and how everybody else has the same valuation method.'
Part of the confusion likely comes from the different types of tax breaks. Three of those are new this year.
One of the new laws provides a tax break on single-family homes based on their fair market value of up to one million dollars.
Another gives a tax break to people over 65 who've paid tax in Wyoming for at least 25 years. However, it expires in 2025.
The third caps year-to-year residential property tax increases at . This is in conjunction with a law that went into effect last year capping property tax increases at four percent for residences.
All three of the laws have additional requirements not listed in this article.
During one of the committee meetings, Sen. Ide offered a solution. He proposed to draft a bill 'to eliminate, repeal, section 15' of the Wyoming Constitution in order to get rid of property taxes.
'It should be up to the legislature to look at a consumption tax, a sales tax,' He added. 'It's the only way we're going to muck out all of this layered minutia of property tax.'
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Sen. Ide's proposal passed the committee. However, not all legislatures voted in favor.
'Consumption taxes are regressive,' stated Sen. Case Cale R-Lander. 'They hit poor people harder because they spend more of their income.'
Cale suggested studying the effects of implementing a consumption tax before drafting a bill to amend the constitution. 'Property taxes have been a basis of local government taxation for well more than 100 years,' he added. 'They have their wrinkles, but we've done a pretty good job at implementing them.'
Regardless of what direction lawmakers decide to go regarding property taxes, making any changes to the tax code is far from an easy task. 'When it comes to tax reformation there's always some question as to why or how we are going to end up with a fair and equitable system to keep taxation equal and equitable throughout the whole state,' explained Thomas.
Thomas told ABC4 that those who are confused about their property taxes can reach out to their county assessor. He said the assessor can help explain and break down the tax laws that are already in place.
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Wyoming state senator proposes eliminating property taxes
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