Constitutional amendment deals with property tax classifications

A question will appear on ballots across the Cowboy State next week, asking residents whether they’d support a change in the state constitution that was set in motion by lawmakers intent on lowering property taxes.

Constitutional Amendment A, a “for” or “against” question, is worded this way on the ballot: “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.”

Big Horn County Assessor Gina Anderson said her office has fielded dozens of questions about the constitutional amendment, many of them arising from flyers residents received in the mail urging them to vote “yes” on the question. 

The county assessor’s association, of which Anderson is a part, considered but ultimately chose not to take a position on the proposed amendment, opting instead to let it play out, according to Anderson.

As it’s currently written, the state constitution, under “Uniformity of Assessment,” requires all property to be “uniformly valued at its full value, as defined by the legislature,” in the following three classes: 1) gross production of minerals and mine products in lieu of taxes on the land where produced; 2) property used for industrial purposes as defined by the legislature; and 3) all other property, real and personal.

The “all other” classification includes residential, commercial, agricultural and personal property and they must  be assessed at the same rate.  All assessment ratios are set in statutes; the legislature does not have the ability to raise or lower the assessment rates within the 40% limits.

Constitutional Amendment A would separate residential real property into its own classification and authorize the legislature to create a subclass of owner-occupied primary residences.

If it passes, the legislature would need to define residential, decide rates and figure out how to identify and handle “owner occupied” versus “non-owner occupied.”

According to information provided by Anderson, amending the Wyoming Constitution to add a subclass would mean the owner-occupied primary residences could be assessed in a different (likely lower) rate from other property within the residential property class. 

Owner occupied residenced would be in their own subclass, where rental properties, second homes, mobile homes, or vacation rentals would be at a disadvantage because they would be in a different taxation class or subclass than owner occupied homes, which could lead to higher taxation.