Wyoming
Lower Wyoming Property Taxes Could Mean Higher Sales Tax, Removing Exemptions
Although the 2025 legislative session is more than six months off, the Joint Revenue Committee of the Wyoming Legislature is already exploring ways the state government could continue funding services and departments at current levels while also giving people more property tax breaks.
The most likely avenues for that would be broadening the state’s 4% sales tax, which could potentially happen by removing certain sales tax exemptions or putting new taxes on specified services that are currently non-taxable in the state, or both. Individual Wyoming counties also can assess their own local sales taxes up to 2%. Statewide, there is an an average combined state and local sales tax rate of 5.36%.
What Could It Look Like?
A study performed by the Legislative Service Office shows that by removing most exemptions and taxing new specified services, the state could raise $268 million in additional revenue per year. Still exempted under this cost estimate would be health, veterinary and funeral services.
There were bills brought during the 2019 and 2023 legislative sessions that would have broadened and lowered the sales tax rate in Wyoming to make it revenue neutral. These efforts had little success.
Some of the current sales tax exemptions in Wyoming include purchases on livestock and feed, farm implements, food for domestic home consumption, aircraft sales and maintenance, manufacturing machinery, data process service centers and broadband internet equipment.
The 2023 bill would have removed these exemptions, but the broadband exemption is expiring anyway on July 1. That will provide an estimated $900,000 revenue for the state each year.
Manufacturing machinery generates $160 million in total revenue a year while data centers come in at a whopping $841 million, based on 2023 figures.
Solely by removing most of the state’s exemptions, $127 million in additional revenue would be expected to be raised. By taxing currently untaxed services, a projected $141 million would be raised.
Wyoming’s sales tax is based more on goods rather than services. This does not reflect the fact that the Wyoming economy has shifted to a more services-based economy over time, Temte said, which has narrowed the state’s tax base.
A theoretical consumption tax would be applicable to all goods and services.
Dean Temte, senior fiscal analyst for the Legislative Service Office, presented his estimates based on a comparison to the sales tax of South Dakota, which is broader than Wyoming’s tax in that it assesses much more services.
He stressed that this is an imperfect comparison, as South Dakota has a substantially larger population than Wyoming and different sources of revenue as that state has much less mineral production.
What About Data Centers?
State Sen. Bob Ide, R-Casper questioned during the Revenue Committee’s meeting Wednesday why data centers receive a sales tax exemption, to which Temte had no answer.
A number of data centers have popped up around Cheyenne in recent years, including facilities run by Microsoft and Meta (Facebook) in Cheyenne. These facilities are somewhat controversial as they tend to draw a significant amount of energy to run.
David Bush, governmental affairs manager for Black Hills Energy, acknowledged these facilities benefit his company because of their high electricity bills.
“It’s great for us as a company, but what is great for us as a company is great for the community as well,” he said.
As of 2021, there were four data centers in Cheyenne that provided 209 primary jobs, generating $82 million per year for Wyoming’s economy with $1.5 billion in capital investments, according to a Cheyenne LEADS analysis. This included $18 million in sales tax spent on power bills and $40.6 million spent on property taxes since opening.
Bush said there are 32 other states that offer data center exemptions.
“It’s a really competitive market,” he said. “There’s a lot of people trying to get the data centers.”
What About Food?
Temte said the exemption on food originated from the 2006 biennial budget bill and was made permanent during the next year’s session. Sen. Troy McKeown, R-Gillette, questioned whether this simply shifted the burden from this lost revenue to another sector at that time, but Rep. Steve Harshman, R-Casper, who was in the Legislature at that time, said no new taxes were levied.
Casper resident Rozmaring Czaban firmly opposed the idea of taxing food, manufacturing and agricultural equipment. Doing so, she believes, would lead to more government subsidies for those industries anyway.
“Since Wyoming is mainly comprised of the mineral industry and agricultural, I think that’s going to be pretty detrimental on the state,” she said. “What you’re giving with one hand you’re taking with the other.”
She urged the committee to try and reduce spending without raising revenue in another sector.
Sen. Tim French, R-Powell, a farmer by occupation, said he has a couple of pieces of field equipment that cost $25,000 to $30,000 that he only uses about two days a year. He said his business already has a thin profit margin that becomes even slimmer and sometimes disappears entirely during poor weather years.
Rep. Tony Locke, R-Casper, took a similar perspective and questioned how the potential imposition of these taxes would affect Wyoming’s economy and its competitiveness with neighboring states. Temte said this would require an extensive additional analysis.
Tobacco Tax
During the 2023 legislative session, a bill was proposed that would have capped the tobacco tax on cigars at 30 cents per cigar, but that piece of the legislation was removed. What the bill did do as passed was require the tax of a cigar or related products happen at the point of sale instead of wholesale by the business owner.
Sen. Stephan Pappas, R-Cheyenne, said this has put local tobacco shops at a disadvantage when considering online retailers aren’t subject to the same tax. Bret Fanning, a Department of Revenue staffer, said not only have these retailers been pushing back on the tax, but also on licensing with the state of Wyoming, which is required under state law.
Pappas said the few premium cigar retailers in Wyoming are being pushed out by dozens of much larger outside companies. Premium cigars are already taxed at a higher rate in Wyoming because they have a higher level of nicotine. Pappas recommended lowering this tax to make it equal for all cigars.
“The Department of Revenue is trying everything we can statutorily to get these companies (to) send us tobacco tax,” Fanning told the committee. “So that the local tobacco retailers in your areas are not at a disadvantage from online retailers.”
‘Claw-Back’ Option
Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, took an opposite approach to the discussions, requesting that the Legislative Service Office draft a bill providing a “claw-back” option on a 4% property tax cap passed by the Legislature this spring that would allow cities and counties the option to revert this cap back as far as 2019 taxing quotas.
Locke also wants to add in related residential structures such as detached garages to the 4% cap, which are not currently covered. Ide went further, putting in a request for a bill draft that lowers the cap to 3% or the lesser of annual consumer price index growth.
Rep. Ember Oakley, R-Riverton, said she wants the Legislature to pursue putting limits on levies rather than assessments.
Sen. Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, requested the resurrection of Senate File 54, a popular property tax bill from the 2024 session that Gov. Mark Gordon vetoed. He also wants to explore tax assessment on industrial properties in Wyoming from 11.5% to the 9.5% rate shared by residential properties.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
A pair of bills signed into law last week aim to build out a more comprehensive system of literacy education across Wyoming’s public schools.
One mandates evidence-based practices and requires regular screenings for dyslexia, while the other enables the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) to hire a dedicated literacy professional to oversee statewide compliance.
Gov. Mark Gordon’s signing of both bills on Friday was the latest accomplishment of an ongoing push for improved literacy standards. That push has been spearheaded by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder.
“Wyoming is not going to let a single child fall through the cracks,” Degenfelder said during a public bill signing last week. “We are not going to fall behind when it comes to ensuring that our children can read at grade level.”
The primary bill, Senate File 59, establishes a statewide K-12 program for teaching students to read that is built on “evidence based language and literacy instruction, assessment, intervention and professional development that supports educators, engages families and promotes literacy proficiency for all Wyoming students.”
The bill defines evidence-based strategies as those that conform to the science of reading, a term that will be defined and updated by Degenfelder’s office. Nationwide, it generally means putting academic research into practice in classrooms. SF 59 specifically prohibits the exclusive use of “three-cueing” — a strategy once widely employed to teach reading but which education experts now say is outdated and less effective than other strategies.
It also requires annual dyslexia screeners for students below the third grade, and testing for reading difficulties for all students.
The screeners are used to identify the severity of reading difficulties in order to direct “tiered” support that offers the most intensive interventions to the students most in need, while still providing “evidence based” language instruction to all students.
Each school district must formulate an individualized reading plan “for each student identified as having reading difficulties or at risk for poor reading outcomes.”
Districts must now report to the state annually regarding their literacy-related work. Any district where 60% or more of the students are struggling will be required to implement “summer literacy camps or extended supports, including after school support and tutoring.”
The bill also requires literacy related professional development for teachers and specialists “appropriate to their role and level of responsibility” related to literacy education.
SF 59 was backed by dyslexia advocates and literacy specialists.
Senate File 14, the other literacy bill signed into law Friday, appropriates $120,000 annually for the next two years for a full-time position at WDE “to assist school districts in implementing a reading assessment and intervention program and language and literacy programs.”
Both bills go into effect July 1.
LARAMIE — The University of Wyoming and the Mountain West Conference announced the Cowboys’ 2026 football schedule Monday, a slate that opens with the Border War and concludes with back-to-back home games in Laramie.
Wyoming opens the season Sept. 5 on the road against Colorado State in the 118th edition of the Border War. The Cowboys then host Northern Colorado on Sept. 12 in the home opener before traveling to Central Michigan on Sept. 19.
The Cowboys begin Mountain West play Sept. 26 at home against Hawaii in a matchup for the Paniolo Trophy. Wyoming then faces back-to-back road games at North Dakota State on Oct. 3 and San Jose State on Oct. 10.
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Wyoming returns to War Memorial Stadium on Oct. 17 to host conference newcomer Northern Illinois before facing Air Force at home on Oct. 24. The Cowboys will have an open week on Oct. 31.
The Cowboys open November with road games at UNLV on Nov. 7 and at UTEP on Nov. 14, marking Wyoming’s first meeting with the Miners as members of the Mountain West. Wyoming closes conference play by hosting New Mexico on Nov. 21 and wraps up the regular season with a nonconference game against UConn on Nov. 28 in Laramie.
Each Mountain West team will play four home and four road conference games during the 13-week season, which will conclude with the Mountain West Football Championship Game featuring the two teams with the highest conference winning percentages. The championship game date will be announced later.
With the conference schedule set, Mountain West television partners CBS Sports, FOX Sports, and The CW will begin selecting broadcast games, which could include moving some contests to non-Saturday dates. Network assignments and kickoff times will be announced at a later date.
Season ticket renewals for the 2026 Wyoming football season are now available. Fans can renew their tickets online by visiting gowyo.com/tickets and logging into their account.
The 2026 Wyoming prep girls’ basketball season is nearly done. Two state champions were crowned in Classes 1A and 2A last Saturday. Southeast won the 1A title for the third consecutive season, and Sundance won the 2A title for the first time in eight years. Class 3A and 4A held their regional tournaments, which qualified teams for the state tournament later this week in Casper.
WYOPREPS WEEK 12 GIRLS BASKETBALL STANDINGS 2026
These are the girls’ basketball team records for all games played through March 7, 2026. For all but 16 teams, this is the final record of the season. Those squads will play in the 3A-4A state tournament starting on Thursday in Casper.
1A Northwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Burlington 24-5, 8-0
Riverside 14-10, 6-2
Dubois 11-10, 4-4
St. Stephens 3-16, 1-7
Meeteetse 1-20, 1-7
1A Southwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Cokeville 23-4, 10-0
Little Snake River 23-4, 8-2
Farson-Eden 16-12, 5-5
Saratoga 13-11, 5-5
Ft. Washakie 8-13, 2-8
Encampment 3-19, 0-10
1A Northeast: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Upton 16-7, 10-0
Kaycee 13-12, 7-3
Hulett 12-13, 7-3
Arvada-Clearmont 9-12, 4-6
Casper Christian 4-13, 2-8
Midwest 1-16, 0-10
1A Southeast: (Overall Record, followed by Reg. Season Points)
Southeast 24-5, 40 points
Lingle-Ft. Laramie 17-11, 31 points
Lusk 15-13, 26 points
H.E.M. 13-11, 24 points
Rock River 6-14, 12 points
Guernsey-Sunrise 2-18, 4 points
2A Northwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Thermopolis 16-13, 5-1
Greybull 16-15, 4-2
Rocky Mountain 9-17, 2-4
Shoshoni 11-18, 1-5
2A Southwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Wyoming Indian 23-7, 6-0
Big Piney 8-16, 4-2
Kemmerer 2-21, 1-5
Wind River 2-23, 1-5
2A East: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Sundance 23-4, 5-0
Big Horn 21-6, 4-1
Tongue River 18-11, 3-2
Pine Bluffs 17-12, 2-3
Moorcroft 7-18, 1-4
Wright 3-23, 0-5
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3A West: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Cody 24-0, 10-0
Lander 21-4, 9-1
Pinedale 20-5, 7-3
Powell 16-9, 6-4
Lovell 16-10, 4-6
Worland 9-16, 2-8
Lyman 10-11, 2-8
Mountain View 4-19, 0-10
3A East: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Wheatland 22-4, 10-0
Buffalo 13-11, 8-2
Douglas 14-11, 6-4
Burns 16-13, 5-5
Torrington 10-11, 5-5
Glenrock 12-13, 3-7
Newcastle 1-22, 1-9
Rawlins 2-21, 0-10
4A Northwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Green River 23-2, 6-0
Natrona County 9-16, 4-2
Kelly Walsh 8-15, 2-4
Rock Springs 5-20, 0-6
4A Southwest: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Star Valley 16-7, 5-1
Evanston 16-10, 5-1
Riverton 7-19, 1-5
Jackson 3-19, 1-5
4A East: (Overall Record, followed by Conference Record)
Cheyenne East 21-3, 11-1
Cheyenne Central 16-9, 10-2
Sheridan 14-10, 7-5
Thunder Basin 14-10, 6-6
Laramie 12-11, 6-6
Campbell County 1-19, 1-10
Cheyenne South 1-21, 0-11
*The second Campbell County-Cheyenne South girls’ game was canceled.
Wyoming 3A Boys Swimming & Diving State Championships 2026
Photos from the 3A Boys State Swim Meet
Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Marcello Monterastelli Photography & Jared Newland, WHSAA
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