Wyoming lawmakers: Abolish property tax structure (copy)

CHEYENNE — Wyoming lawmakers voted Tuesday to draft a bill that abolishes the state’s property tax system.

During a meeting of the Legislature’s Joint Revenue Committee in Gillette, the proposal was introduced by Sen. Bob Ide, R-Casper, who said it’s time for lawmakers to start over from scratch. Taxpayers are “paying unrealized gains” on inflation, he said, and it’s time for the state to “shift to a new system.”

Furthermore, recent property tax reform passed in the last two years has created complexity in assessment for both the taxpayer and county assessors, he said.

Ide moved to have Legislative Service Office staff draft a bill that would repeal the property tax structure under Article 15 of the Wyoming Constitution, and to consider replacing it with a sales tax. In order to amend t