WYOMING — On Tuesday, Nov. 5, voters across Wyoming approved an amendment to the state constitution to differentiate residential property from commercial property when it comes to taxation.
Teton County voters were in favor of the amendment to the tune of more than 10,000 votes, with shy of 2,000 votes against. Statewide, the results were less skewed: 146,300 voted in favor, 100,375 voted against and 24,261 did not make a selection.
The ballot language for the amendment reads 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.”
“Residential real property” will become the fourth class of property in the Wyoming constitution. Legislature will be able to assess owner-occupied primary residences at a different rate from other property in the residential property class. Previously, all classes of property had to be taxed at the same rate, where residential property was subject to the same rates as industrial and mining properties.
This amendment doesn’t change anything about property tax rates on its own, but it does open the door for lawmakers to take legislative action.
Katie Robertson, president of the Teton Board of Realtors, says this is an opportunity for Teton County residents to make their voices heard. She said she’s heard from residents who have seen property tax increases of 50 to 100% in the past few years.
“This is a good representation of people speaking to their elected representatives and those representatives going and doing something about it,” Robertson told Buckrail. She encourages property owners to get in touch with their representatives and share their “opinions and ideas on how we can make housing more affordable for our citizens.”
