Advocate questions Wyoming property tax rules

In 1989, Wyoming legislators changed the state constitution, allowing property taxes to be governed not by assessed value, but by fair market value, thus ensuring a steady revenue in a largely mineral based state.

According to Cindy Barlow of the Equality State Taxpayers Association, this change was very small, but mighty.

"[Today,] all taxable properties shall be valued at its full value as defined by the legislature; before, it said 'shall be valued at its assessed value."

Pine Haven entertained Barlow last Thursday night for the edification of many local property owners about how this tax law is actually affecting them and asked these landowners to get involved in an attempt to change the law to better benefit the people.

These facts are important to local homeowners because, as more people move into the area escalating surrounding sale prices, residents who have lived in their home for decades may be forced by current state law to pay taxes based on higher prices of homes selling around them.

At this time, if a homeowner lives in the same Land Economic Area (LEA) as five properties that sell for significantly more, that first owner will taxed on the surrounding sale prices.

"An LEA...is anything within a geographic circle that affects the value of your land," according to Barlow.

House District #1 Representative Chip Neiman, who asked Barlow to speak throughout Crook County, explained his angst over the situation, "Whoever bought...next to you has effectively raised the [value of your] home...to that same value. They say it is equitable, but what it's doing is flooding people out of their homes."

"If you're fixed income... you're not able to just continue paying these increases in values," he continued. "We're already watching folks having to leave their homes and, ironically, they're going into state funded or assisted care situations where now the taxpayers are having to pay for their homes."

The taxpayer advocate discussed her attempts to get bills passed through the Wyoming Legislature to no avail. The preceding "working group" quashed every proposal that would reestablish a measure of control like a tax cap and an acquisition study on different options to modify the tax system to better reflect a more equitable valuation of individual properties.

She has not retreated, though, saying, "We have three to four bills sitting out there now."

Barlow also alleged there was a clandestine meeting at the state level – "working group meeting" – that was not recorded or made public.

"I was the only person [there] to represent the taxpayers of Wyoming and [they] had the state board of equalization, almost all the assessors in the state of Wyoming, the revenue committee...It was beyond just a working group meeting. It should have been a recorded public meeting," she said.

With slides, Barlow continued to explain how to read and confirm tax assessments, property profiles, etc, encouraging homeowners to go through the material each year, confirming accuracy.

Barlow provided a great deal of information to help people to better understand precisely their position in the eyes of the state regarding property taxation at this time and asked a few eye opening questions, such as, "Do you really believe you have a fair chance at an appeal? ...that it's fair that we are a nondisclosure state? ...that rising property taxes are due to legislators' tax spend habits? ... that filing a tax protest will allow me to fight this increase?"

"You will hear our legislators say that we're the lowest tax," she told the audience, "They're saying that because of the tax rate – 9.5%."

On a scale of 1 (best) to 50 (worst), Wyoming has been ranked 35th nationwide by the National Tax Foundation in Washington, D.C.

Barlow asks that all property owners join her at the next joint revenue committee meeting. The date has been set tentatively for November 21 and 22, starting at 8:30 a.m., at Capitol Extension, W006, 200 West 24th Street, Cheyenne, WY.

"I hope I can get as many of you there to come in and...tell your story, talk about how these things are affecting you," she said.

The session will also be available live stream on the Legislature's website at http://www.wyoleg.gov . Those who wish to attend either way may get on this site to confirm the date and time in November.

Cindy Barlow is a Wyoming native and property owner.