The Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Revenue Committee voted Wednesday to sponsor a pair of bills to eliminate residential property taxes and to raise sales taxes to replace the resulting revenue loss.
The meeting in Cheyenne marked the last of the committee’s off-season work that prioritized property tax reforms and relief for homeowners. The topic has been a focal point for the Legislature since at least 2022.
Lawmakers have already, in recent years, expanded the state’s refund program, amended the constitution with the support of voters to separate residential property into a separate tax class and capped annual increases.
The Legislature has also added several property tax exemptions to state law — creating a complicated web in the process — but no enacted measure has been so sweeping as abolishing residential property taxes altogether.
Meanwhile, raising or creating new taxes has historically been a non-starter for Wyoming’s Republican-dominated statehouse. But lawmakers find themselves in new territory, with some arguing that the state’s tax system needs a thorough overhaul.
The committee also voted to sponsor several other property tax bills, including one to repeal a sunset date on an exemption for long-term homeowners, another to amend the Wyoming Constitution to allow for an acquisition-value tax system similar to California.
How we got here
Casper Republican Sen. Bob Ide proposed abolishing all property taxes during a Revenue Committee meeting in June.
“We need to shift to a new system,” Ide said at the June meeting, before bringing a motion to draft a bill repealing most of Article 15 of the Wyoming Constitution.
That version, if passed by the Legislature and approved by voters, would have eliminated all property taxes — residential, commercial, industrial and personal — which brought in $2 billion in the 2024 tax year.
The committee instead approved a narrowed version of that proposal Thursday that would only eliminate residential property taxes. Lawmakers voted 9-1, with four excused, to sponsor the bill.
Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, was the sole dissenting vote, while Sens. Stephan Pappas, R-Cheyenne, Dan Dockstader, R-Afton, and Reps. Liz Storer, D-Jackson, and Bob Wharff, R-Evanston, were excused.
Because the bill amends the Wyoming Constitution, it requires voter approval. Meanwhile, legislation to raise sales taxes would only go into effect if the constitutional amendment passes.
The state sales tax rate is 4%. The bill would increase it to 6%, which would be in addition to the local county sales taxes. All but one county — Sublette — have an additional 1% to 3% sales, according to Department of Revenue data.
The bill is estimated to bring in approximately $475 million, which would then be transferred to local governments to fund local services.
The committee voted 8-4, with two excused, to sponsor the bill. The dissenting votes included Sen. Case and Reps. Jayme Lien, R-Casper; J.R. Riggins, R-Casper; and Clarence Styvar, R-Cheyenne. Storer and Pappas were excused.
Discussion
“I think what we’re trying to do here is protect our citizens. That’s all we’re trying to do,” Ide said. “And a sales tax, a consumption tax is probably the best avenue to protect those citizens from what’s going on back in Washington with deficit spending and stimulus and all of those things.”
Ide also said no member of the committee had reported hearing from their constituents, “we wish you wouldn’t have lowered our property taxes.”
The committee, however, heard nearly that very thing when it met in Ide’s district in August, when about two dozen local homeowners urged lawmakers to skip further property tax cuts.
“Don’t defund and destroy our institutions,” Lisa Jamieson, a Casper homeowner, told the committee in August, echoing others at the meeting. “I think what’s important to people like me is, I would like for our communities to remain nice places to live, and I’m willing to pay taxes to keep that going.”
Recent property tax cuts have had an asymmetrical impact on counties, as a recent WyoFile collaboration detailed. While some haven’t experienced much belt tightening, others are eyeing cuts to various public services, like road maintenance and election administration.
“Listening to all of this, it makes my stomach hurt in the sense that you are cutting off the legs of our communities and pulling the blanket out from under them,” said Beth Blackwell, the city of Newcastle’s grant and loan specialist.
Blackwell previously worked as the grant loan manager for the Office of State Lands and Investments, where she said she saw firsthand how local governments, including special districts, rely on property taxes. Moving to sales taxes — a more volatile revenue source — will make it difficult for local officials to effectively budget, Blackwell said.
Sen. Case, an economist, reiterated that point.
“Sales tax, they’re the most erratic of your tax forms. We already have a problem with erratic revenue streams from our minerals,” Case said.
For others, eliminating property taxes was the type of solution lawmakers have long sought.
“I frankly see this is the best thing I’ve heard, is doing away with the property tax,” Rep. Wharff said. “Let people actually own their homes and do away with this perpetual tax that we have to pay on our property.”
The slate of bills will now go to the full Legislature for consideration. The 2026 budget session begins Feb. 9.
Raising sales taxes will put Wyoming small businesses at a competative disadvantage. There is already a great deal of retail “leakage” and commerce that goes to out of state shopping. This is especially prominent in Northern Wyoming, as Montana has no state sales tax. Wyoming, independent, small businesses are already in a very tough position. The combination of massive online competition, ever rising overhead due to sky rocketing freight charges, business and health insurance premium costs, and workforce shortages, make operating a hometown business difficult. Add a large increase of sale tax fees that will only encourage more out-of-state shopping, and the challenges only grow. I view this effort to raise state government revenue through increased sales tax as an extremely anti-business move by Freedom Caucus legislators. This kind tax increase and business intervention by the government is NOT conservative. This will hurt Wyoming retail businesses and Wyoming communites. Come up with another idea, this one stinks!
On one hand, I think if you own your home free & clear, you shouldn’t have to pay taxes on it. However, I’m not a homeowner as well as there’s many others that aren’t probably due to how unaffordable it is to buy a home here with the cost of living higher than many salaries. Raising the sales tax, in an already high cost of living environment, hurts more people than it’ll help. Homeowners will have more available money since they won’t have to pay property taxes, but those that don’t own a home and are already struggling financially in this economy, are going to struggle even more to afford basic needs with a higher sales tax. Just my 2 cents.
When are our legislators going to learn that we all as citizens of this great and free State need to pay our fair share of taxes to maintain its infrastructure and services. Cowboy up and be responsible
about funding our State.
I’d benefit greatly from abolition of property taxes, but I’m nonetheless opposed to it. Why? Because I know that I receive valuable services and resources simply by virtue of the fact that I own property. Police, fire, plowed streets, other infrastructure… I receive benefits that are the direct result of owning real estate where those services are deployed. This doesn’t mean that government should be able to tax without citizens’ approval — Laramie and Cheyenne’s attempts to impose storm water taxes without the legally required elections will hopefully be rebuffed by the courts. But it does mean that property owners shouldn’t expect to get a free ride. And property taxes should be scrupulously fair. The recently passed exemptions, and the forthcoming referendum which would exempt owners of single family homes but not renters or business owners, do not distribute the burden evenly and are NOT fair. Let’s recognize the facts: We need a mix of taxes, both to prevent unfair tax avoidance (having only one type of tax makes it easier to skirt them) and to make sure everyone pays a share. Because so many out-of-state businesses exploit Wyoming resources and consumers, there would be serious advantages to replacing sales taxes with an income tax (as Montana does). But since this is politically impractical – a Constitutional amendment would likely fail to overcome irrational opposition even though an income tax is much more equitable than a sales tax – let’s at least keep a mix of the taxes we CAN impose that’s reasonable and not excessive. It’s only fair.
Nowwe’re seeing what Teton County billionaire dark money is paying the wy. freedom caucus for behind the scenes
Bob Ide’s idea is terrible! Get him out of WY congress position.
The rich get richer and the poor suffer more than they are all ready.
Pay attention Wyoming! This bunch of dolts, called legislators, also want to privatize our wildlife by selling landowners licenses to their wealthy friends. Some of this mentality can be corrected at the next general election..
Ms. Blackwell’s comments above are absolutely on the money. It is also my understanding that consumption taxes operate on the premise that there are actually consumables to consume… Newcastle, the community that pays her wages, is the county seat of Weston County in NE Wyoming, and for those of you unfamiliar with the place, it is a small town with a population of around 3500 souls situated roughly 10 miles west of the South Dakota border. You cannot purchase things like sushi rolls, plasma television sets, or 2X4s in Newcastle, Wyoming because nobody has ever been able to crack the formula needed to make a nickel selling them there. Locals tend to load up the younguns in the family truckster and hightail it over the border to Rapid City anytime they need a quart of milk or a head of lettuce (as I am sure most residents of Wyoming’s tiny border communities are also prone to do). Sorry to be the one to have to break the bad news, but Denver—Billings– Idaho Falls— Salt Lake–and good ol’ Rapid City will continue to vacuum up all of the surplus wheat pennies and pocket lint regardless of how desperately our shortsighted Cheyenne lawmakers try to pinch them.
I despise property taxes for a number of reasons; but Turning Point USA’s Blake Neff made compelling arguments for keeping them in a discussion with Spectator UK’s Freddie Gray on the 11/20/25 episode of the Americano show available on YouTube.
What a crappy idea. Trade $2 billion in property tax revenue for $475 million in extra sale tax revenue? As noted in other comments, increasing the sales tax would burden lower income people and make the wealthy richer, because lower income people spend a larger portion of their income on sales tax. Why should someone living in a multi-million dollar home in Jackson not pay property tax?
One of the Holy Grails of Wyoming state government is somehow broadening the tax base to be less dependent on minerals. Increasing the sales tax while decreasing property taxes is basically shifting some of the burden from the wealthy to the less affluent who spend a higher percentage of their income on goods and products subject to sales taxes. As noted in an another comment, basically the idea is to tax the poor to help the rich.
What is more startling is the legislator who said they had not heard from anyone that cutting property taxes which local governments and essential services rely upon was not a good idea. I can understand a difference of opinion but to simply not be truthful is lying . We should demand at least honesty our elected representatives.
I am the elected Sweetwater County Assessor and I would like to commend Maggie for this article. I am very grateful she pointed out the constituents in Natrona County that spoke up about the services they did not want to lose to this same Revenue Committee in August of this year in Casper. Those residents understood that property taxes provide services and those services are important. In 2024, Wyoming ranked 49th in overall tax burden in the country. The only state that had a lower overall tax burden was Alaska. We do need to acknowledge what the legislature has done the last couple of years to reduce the property tax burden. Two years ago they applied a 4% cap to the value of residential property. There are a few limitations to the cap, but this legislation addressed the large increases from one tax year to the next by capping the increase on residential property at 4%. The legislature also allowed a 50% reduction to primary residences where the owner was 65 years old and had paid property taxes in Wyoming for 25 years. This gave a substantial exemption for being long-term taxpayers of Wyoming and being 65 years old and living in your residence 8 months of the year. The next exemption was for property owners that did not qualify for the 50% exemption. This owner occupied exemption of 25%, is for those primary owners that do not qualify for the long-term exemption. And finally, the legislature funded the Property Tax Refund Program to help those lower income individuals who still needed help with the property tax burden after the cap and either the long-term exemption or the owner occupied exemption. There has been a lot of tax relief already, and local governments are feeling the effects. In Sweetwater County, the most controversial ripple to the property tax reductions is happening at Western Wyoming Community College. WWCC has cut the women’s volleyball program and are currently working through a reduction in force, due to a reduction in tax revenue. In Sweetwater County, the 4% cap exempted $14,698,151 in assessed value…the Long-Term Homeowner’s exemption exempted $28,708,579 in assessed value…and the Owner Occupied exemption exempted $64,803,882 in assessed value. If you take all of those exemptions and apply an average mill levy, Sweetwater County would have collected $7,840,725 tax dollars to provide local services all across the county. And let’s be clear, all of the revenue collected through property tax is to provide local services. All of this data is available through the Department of Revenue’s website in the 2025 Annual Report. I have provided the link below.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lqfOHGmQIE6ng9L0JGA69u03Jp3xZcOK/view
If you have any questions on any of the exemptions mentioned above, please contact your local assessor.
The point to all of this information is to get our legislature to “pump the brakes” on the property tax legislation and see what they have done. Find out who this hurts and LISTEN when these entities/constituents voice their concerns.
Great info David, thank you. Looking at pg 39 of DOR ’25 AR, it appears about $200M residential prop taxes have been exempted across the State. From some previous digging in 2024 DOR data, our total State revenue should be around $3,000M give or take. That’s 6-7% of revenue remaining in the pockets of our State citizens who’ll then spend more one the sales side too that boosts State GDP.
Obviously, the impact on various counties and muni’s varies drastically. But there’s a shortfall in revenue being projected in the near future as I understand. As painful as these efforts are, I’m hoping they’re healthy in the regard that it forces us to be more efficient while really trying to protect so many folks who have suffered the past five years from these massive property value increases ranging from 20% to over 100%.
If we shift the burden away from property owners and more towards the sales tax stream, that has its own knock-on effects we don’t fully understand. A 2% increase in Statewide sales tax (4% to proposed 6%) is a big jump and I’m sure the revenue increase would probably be less predictable. But I also see the moral hazard we’re in of taxing unrealized capital gains on our property. We’re used to it, so we don’t think of it much. But no one would cheer if we decided to tax investment principle gains prior to having a taxable event take place either.
We’re shaking the system and having needed hard conversations. Whatever changes take place, they’re mandated to run the gauntlet through committees, the entire Legislature and the Governor, and that’s just at the State level. That offers plenty of gates to assess what’s finally approved. It’ll also be fascinating to see how the county / muni govs react as well. As you state, listening is a must from all sides.
Mr. Fox,
I have been hearing that “tax on unrealised gains” for a while now and I just do not agree. I respect your opinion, but until Wyoming has an income tax, that gain/loss argument just doesn’t work for me. All Wyoming Assessors are required to value property at “full value”…it is in the Wyoming Constitution that I took an oath to uphold. You are correct, that “full value” has been going up and your tax bill is tied to that value. In some cases, the increases are substantial. Especially places where the snow comes straight down. But…your home could be one of your most valuable assets and if you borrow money on that asset, transfer to your heirs, or choose to sell and relocate…you want that value to appreciate. I understand a tax bill comes with the increase, but real property tends to appreciate in value, where personal property decreases, cars are a great example. When Assessors value property for tax purposes we confirm the taxable value compared to actual sales of similar properties. The State Board of Equalization/and the Wyoming Department of Revenue analyze our values and our appraisal practices and make sure we are doing our jobs within approved appraisal practices and statutes and rules. It isn’t easy, we don’t like raising values/taxes but you as a taxpayer have the right to come into our office and ask how we calculated your value. Every Assessor in Wyoming will sit down with you and explain the process. Every Assessor wants a fair value for every property in their county. During that conversation new information may come to light that adjusts that taxable value. Please believe me when I say, we just want to get it right. And every tax dollar collected on property taxes stays in your community to provide local services. EMS, fire, road & bridge, sheriff, county offices, libraries, mental health resources, and other organizations like senior centers, youth homes, boys and girls clubs…all get revenue from property taxes.
Please reach out to your Assessor if you have questions on your value and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Great comment David. It’s a realistic view from both perspectives IMHO and should be a part of the overall debate. (i.e. Should we simply fix on purchase price.) BTW, the $3,000M number is only revenue to the county/muni’s both local and State generated and doesn’t include other State gov entities in their separate funding.
Sen. Ide owns the Ide Land & Leasing Company in Casper. Might color his perspective on property taxes.
So…..they’re just raising taxes? By all rights…shouldn’t they just eliminate sales tax as well? The reasoning that I’m hearing leads one to this conclusion. Be honest with us Wyoming legislature! Let’s just beg the Fed’s for money! The rest of America should support us! A bunch of emperor’s with no clothes parading around town! What a joke.
This is Robin and His Merry Men in reverse. By raising sales taxes you steal from the working person, who tends to rent, or own less valuable real property. By getting rid of property taxes you give money to those who who have the most expensive properties. You give money to those whose higher incomes make sales taxes less impactful than sales taxes are for lower income people.
Why not adopt a progressive property tax system, where the more a property is worth, the greater a percentage of tax is paid. This protects senior home owners who live on fixed incomes and young families just starting out. Add an occupancy tax that is directed at second homes.
The proposal to get rid of property taxes and raise sales taxes is a harebrained idea.
Come on Legislature – work for the people, not for the wealthy…
Ide is the same guy that wanted to transfer federal land to the state, didn’t think young girls should be protected from marriage, and now wants property taxes abolished- all to fatten HIS wallet. Grow a brain Wyoming.
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limitations. This is just another excuse to put more burden on the poor and give tax breaks to the wealthy. What a terrible idea.
Bob Ide is the type that will benefit from this misdeed. This would hurt the poor and the regular family. I don’t know how anyone could vote for this goofball.
Just another transfer of wealth from poor to rich.
There should be one stipulation to this great idea.
The property tax exemption is ONLY for full time occupants of their primary residence.
Teton County would hardly be affected by this and their revenues would remain the same.