Budget & Taxes (Sales Tax)

HB 107 establishes a new formula for distributing 5.6% of Wyoming's state sales and use tax revenue annually to cities, towns, and counties. It allocates 89% of these funds to cities and towns (with 5% reserved for areas with lower tax revenue) and 11% to counties, using a detailed calculation based on population and per capita tax revenue data. The bill requires equal biannual payments (October 15 and March 15) and includes a supplemental formula that prioritizes smaller municipalities ($15,000 minimum for towns under 35 people, $35,000 for larger ones). This directly affects all Wyoming local governments by changing how they receive state tax distributions.

HB 155 requires Wyoming businesses claiming over $250,000 in annual sales or use tax exemptions to submit detailed reports to the state tax department by February 1st each year. The reports must include sales tax collected, exemptions claimed, property taxes paid, and aggregated employee data (full-time/part-time counts, average wages/benefits in Wyoming) without personal identifiers. Businesses failing to report must pay back taxes plus interest/penalties and lose exemption eligibility for that year. The state tax department must annually report aggregated data to the legislature starting August 1, 2027. This bill directly affects large businesses using specific tax exemptions, aiming to improve transparency in tax revenue reporting.

This bill (SF 76) requires separate reporting of sales tax for electricity consumed by "very large electrical loads" (defined as 100+ megawatts for a single customer) and directs the resulting tax revenue into a new "local government distribution account." The funds in this account will be distributed to cities, towns, and counties as determined by the legislature. It applies only to taxes approved by voters on or after July 1, 2026, and requires vendors to report these large-scale electricity sales separately on monthly tax returns. The bill does not change tax rates but alters how revenue from these specific sales is distributed.

Wyoming's SF 61 would exempt sales or transfers of motor vehicles between immediate family members (parents, children, spouses, or siblings) from state sales and use tax. This applies only when the original seller/donor paid tax on the vehicle when they first purchased it. The bill requires the transfer to occur directly between qualifying family members and designates the vehicle as tax-exempt under state law. It takes effect July 1, 2026.