Property tax relief advances in Wyoming legislature

After almost being pulled from the docket Friday, the Senior Citizen Property Tax Relief Constitutional Amendment was introduced in the Senate on an overwhelming vote.
The bill calls for a constitutional amendment which would allow voters to decide if they wanted to approve a property tax exemption for senior citizens. Senator Dan Dockstader of Star Valley said he almost pulled the bill thinking he did not have the votes until he looked at his fellow senators.
“Sitting there and I looked…  and by that time everybody had swiveled their chairs around to look at me. I looked around and I saw their faces and that’s a tough call but I saw a lot of positive support and I thought, ‘you know I think we’ve got the votes for this.’”



The bill says for property tax years on or after next January 1st, fifty percent of the first $200,000 of the fair market value of residential real property as defined by law, will be exempt from taxation if the homeowner or the spouse of the homeowner is 65 years of age or older. The amendment also stipulates that the legislature will reimburse each local entity that receives property tax revenue that is lost as a result of this constitutional amendment.



Jackson Hole Radio