Some Wyoming budget analysts lately have been uttering an unpopular five-letter word – “taxes.” As Wyoming lawmakers grapple with mounting budget deficits due to lost oil, gas and coal revenues, a new report by the Wyoming Center for Business and Economic Analysis shows the state can afford some tax increases without making the state less competitive with neighboring states for business development. Report co-author Nick Colsch says raising taxes could be done in a way that would not put an undue burden on low-wage workers. “The two you’d want to avoid raising, to avoid hurting low-wage workers, would be the sales tax and fuel tax. Lower-income earners pay more of their income in percentage terms in those two taxes than do high income earners.”
Colsch’s team compared Wyoming’s tax rates to the median rates of surrounding states and found that Wyoming could pay more because of the state’s already low tax rates and lower cost of living. Lawmakers have largely resisted raising taxes to stabilize budgets, warning it would blunt economic growth.
- National Elk Refuge February 2026 Biological Update: Mild Winter Persists in Jackson Hole - February 9, 2026
- Wyoming Game and Fish Hosts Workshops on Elk Feedground Management Action Plans - February 9, 2026
- Jackson Town Council Considers Unmet Housing Grant Application for S4 Flats on January 20th - January 20, 2026