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Property tax break is iffy
By The Associated Press
CHEYENNE — Some Wyoming lawmakers say that recent, sharply lower revenue projections could mean that the state can’t afford to offer residents a break on their property taxes.State revenue forecasters in October had predicted that Wyoming would have more than $900 million in extra revenue for the fiscal year that begins this July. But in a new report released Friday, they said the state will only have about $260 million extra.
Despite the lower projections, Gov. Dave Freudenthal still is proposing a $39 million property tax break program.
Freudenthal wants lawmakers to give a $5,000 exemption only to those who owned homes with a market value of $237,000 or less. Qualifying homeowners would see tax-breaks averaging $278, according to a state analysis.
Sens. Grant Larson, R-Jackson, and Eli Bebout, R-Riverton, are co-sponsors of Senate File 55. Their bill would reduce the assessment rate by one-half of 1 percent on all property, residential and industrial.
The legislators’ proposal would cost $50 million for two years beginning Jan. 1, 2010, according to the Legislative Service Office.
Larson has worked on property tax relief for years. He said he had hoped this year the Legislature would finally be able to do something meaningful.
“Yeah, it’s expensive,” Larson said. “Frankly, it’s about one of the only thing that the Legislature still has the ability to do to address the property tax problem.”
Larson said rising taxes have been a problem in western Wyoming for many years and said the problem is now becoming apparent in other parts of the state as well.
“I just want to see us try and get something done when we supposedly had a little money, but now I’m not sure we do,” Larson said.
“With this budget crunch, we’re going to have and the reduction in the estimates, it’s going to be very, very difficult to get anything done,” Larson said.
Sen. Jim Anderson, R-Glenrock, agreed.
“The revenue situation has changed dramatically since August,” said Anderson, the new Senate Majority Leader. “I would say there is much less chance of these bills passing now than there was when they were created. In this climate of uncertainty, about all we can do is be very cautious.”
House Speaker Colin Simpson, R-Cody, is sponsoring a bill similar to Senate File 55. House Bill 68, sponsored by the Joint Interim Revenue Committee, would give nearly 157,000 homeowners an average property tax cut of $256 per year. The cost is an estimated $40 million per year.
Simpson said he expects his bill has a good chance of passing. He said cutting taxes is especially appropriate now that the economy has soured.
Sen. Kit Jennings, R-Casper, is sponsoring Senate File 53 to expand Wyoming’s current deferred property tax program. The program doesn’t cost the state anything, and that could make it more popular than bills that require multimillion-dollar appropriations.
Under the program, county governments can issue liens against the property of people who want to postpone paying their taxes. However, the program has proved to be extremely unpopular. Officials say property owners don’t want their heirs to inherit property already saddled with back taxes.
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Information from: Star-Tribune, http://www.casperstartribune.net
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