By Lori Perkins, Uintah County Assessor
editor:
A proposed constitutional amendment put to a popular vote in November would add a fourth property class, giving Congress the power to create subclasses for owner-occupied principal residences.
Amending the Wyoming Constitution to add a subclass would allow owner-occupied principal residences to be assessed at a different, and perhaps lower, tax rate than other properties within the residential real estate class. means.
Owner-occupied housing becomes its own subclass, and rental properties, second homes, mobile homes, or vacation rentals are at a disadvantage because they are in a different tax class or subclass than owner-occupied housing. As a result, your taxes may be higher. Taxation.
Could Congress increase the assessment level for “all other real property” to compensate for the lower tax base due to the reduction in residential property?
The original text of the Constitution is as follows (emphasis added):
Text of section 11:
Uniformity of evaluation required
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, all property shall be valued uniformly in the following three classes at full amounts as defined by the Legislature:
(i) Total production of minerals and mining products in lieu of taxes on the land on which they are produced.
(ii) Property used for industrial purposes as defined by the Legislature. and
(iii) all other real and personal property;
(b) The legislature shall prescribe the proportion of value to be assessed within each specified class. All taxable property shall be valued at the full amount as defined by the Legislature, except for agricultural land and pasture land, which is valued according to the land’s ability to produce agricultural products under normal conditions. The percentage of value prescribed for industrial property may not exceed the percentage prescribed for non-mineral property by more than 40% and may not exceed 4 percentage points.
(c) The Legislature shall not create a new class or subclass or authorize the valuation of property at a rate other than the rate established for the authorized class.
(d) All taxes shall be equal and uniform within each class of property. The Legislature shall prescribe such regulations as shall ensure the due assessment of taxes on all property, real and personal. (1)
Before you vote, we encourage you to familiarize yourself with this proposed amendment to the Wyoming Constitution.
In my opinion, this amendment is too vague to support.
Lori Perkins
uintah county assessor
