Amid growing frustration with a complex network of property tax exemptions, Wyoming legislators are now weighing a dramatic proposal: eliminating property taxes altogether through a constitutional amendment.
At a recent meeting of the Joint Revenue Committee in Gillette, lawmakers acknowledged that their efforts in recent years to offer property tax relief have instead led to confusion among homeowners and county officials. The introduction of multiple overlapping exemptions has made it difficult for residents to determine what they qualify for and how to apply.
“Taxpayers often struggle to determine which exemptions they qualify for, when and how to apply, and which forms are required,” Crook County Assessor Dan Thomas said on behalf of the Wyoming County Assessors’ Association. “We see misapplications, missed deadlines, and a rising frustration from taxpayers and county offices alike.”
In response, the committee voted 11-3 to draft a bill that would propose repealing most of Article 15 of the Wyoming Constitution—effectively abolishing residential, commercial, industrial, and personal property taxes. These taxes generated $2 billion in revenue in the 2024 tax year, making them the state’s largest source of tax income.
Sen. Bob Ide (R-Casper), who introduced the motion, said the current system is unsustainable.
“A sales tax is the only way we’re going to muck out all of this layered minutia of property taxes,” he said.
Not all members agreed. Sen. Cale Case (R-Lander) warned the committee against rushing into such a major shift without proper study.
“We created the problem,” Case said. “Now we’re upset about the result, and we’re responding by proposing an extreme solution without fully thinking through the consequences.”
Property taxes in Wyoming do not fund state government directly. Instead, they support local services such as fire departments, K–12 education, hospitals, senior centers, and infrastructure maintenance. A total repeal could significantly affect these services, especially in smaller or less wealthy counties.
Weston County Commissioner Ed Wagoner told the committee his county already faces a $220,000 revenue shortfall due to recent property tax cuts.
“We’re struggling with what services we can maintain or where we’ll have to start cutting,” he said.
Relying more on sales and use taxes to replace property tax revenue also presents challenges. Wyoming currently collects about $1.4 billion in sales and use taxes annually—significantly less than the $2 billion generated by property taxes. Doubling the sales tax, as Rep. Liz Storer (D-Jackson) noted, might be necessary to close the gap.
Some lawmakers, like Rep. Bob Wharff (R-Evanston), supported exploring alternatives.
“I think it’s a novel idea, and it’s something we need to look at,” Wharff said, noting the unequal nature of property tax burdens across counties.
However, critics such as Case warned that replacing property taxes with consumption-based taxes could exacerbate regional inequalities.
“You would still have a distributional problem with a consumption tax,” he said, citing low-commerce areas like Niobrara County.
The committee also moved forward with two more targeted changes: modifying existing property tax exemptions and drafting legislation to define “residential property” as a separate tax class with a reduced assessment rate of 8.3%. This follows voter approval of Amendment A in the 2024 general election, which allows lawmakers to create a residential property class and potentially a subclass for owner-occupied homes.
Additionally, lawmakers debated shifting to a California-style acquisition-based property tax system, where taxes are tied to the purchase price of a home rather than its current market value. While some legislators called it fairer and simpler, others raised constitutional concerns about whether such a change would hold up in court.
The committee plans to revisit the property tax elimination proposal and other related bills at its next meeting on August 21 in Casper.
With input from WyoFile and Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
