Amendment would create new subclass for property tax

Voters are being asked to amend the Wyoming Constitution to create four property tax classifications, from the current three.

The question voters are asked to vote “for” or “against” is as follows: “The adoption of this amendment would separate residential real property into its own class of property for purposes of property tax assessments. The amendment would authorize the legislature to create a subclass of owner occupied primary residences.”

Currently under the State Constitution and Wyoming Statute there are three classifications, minerals, industrial and “all other property, real and personal.” The classifications were set by voters in 1988 and rates were set by the Wyoming State Legislature, starting Jan. 1, 1989.

Per Wyoming Statute 39-11-103(b)iii, taxable value is defined as a “percent of the fair market value of property in a particular class.” The statute set gross product of minerals at 100%, industrial at 11.5% and all other property, which includes commercial, residential, agricultural and personal property, at 9.5%.

There have been no increases in property tax rates since they were set in 1989, according to the Legislative Service Office.

According to the LSO, the State Constitution prohibits the Legislature from “creating any subclass within the authorized classes of property.” The constitution also requires “all properties be taxed uniformly in each class.” This amendment would allow the Legislature to “create a subclass of residential property for owner occupied primary residences,” thus allowing the Legislature if they so choose, to decrease the percentage for “owner occupied primary residences” without lowering the percentage of taxes on the other properties in the current classification (commercial, agricultural and personal).

The Wyoming Legislature passed Senate Joint Resolution 003 in 2023 to put the question on the ballot this year. The House approved the resolution 53-9 and the Senate concurred with House changes 22-8-1.

State Rep. Martha Lawley was one of the 53 in support of the legislation last year. She said, “Proposed Amendment A creates a fourth class for residential property and allows the Legislature to create a subcategory of owner-occupied primary residences. That’s it. No hidden agendas, no deception.”

She added, “Two-thirds of the elected members of each house voted in support of proposed Amendment A being put on the ballot for Wyoming citizens to decide. (Two-thirds is the threshold by state statute to place an amendment before the voters.)

“I voted in favor of the resolution to put this proposal on the 2024 ballot because the proposed amendment will provide the Wyoming Legislature options for residential property tax reform that they do not currently have.

“There have been unsupported claims that this proposed amendment will raise your taxes. That is not true. This amendment simply creates a fourth class so our elected representatives can tax residential differently than commercial.

“There is no evidence that anyone intends to raise taxes on commercial property. The Wyoming Legislature, dominated by conservative Republicans like me, is not going to raise anyone’s taxes.”

State Rep. John Winter (R-Thermopolis) voted against the resolution in 2023 and said he still opposes the amendment as he heads to voters next month.

“I don’t think it’s necessary,” he said, adding “I’m concerned some of these taxes might get raised up in different classifications,” Winter said.

He admitted, however, that “I don’t know of any particular effort to do that (raise taxes) but it opens up the possibility.”

“We’ve got to do something that’s meaningful for the property taxes and it’s not happening,” Winter said.

Per Wyoming Statute the amendment must be approved by majority of the electors voting in the election, thus if a voter does not cast a vote for or against the amendment it acts as a no vote.