As other Western economies boom, Wyoming is trying to
rein in a large budget deficit without raising taxes. The Equality
State Policy Center, a nonprofit public-policy advocacy group,
doesn’t share Wyoming’s romance with “no new taxes,” and says taxes
on the state’s minerals industry are an overlooked source of
revenue. A report released by the group says coal production in the
state increased 110 percent between 1987 and 1997, while natural
gas production grew 145 percent (HCN, 10/25/99: Keeping ’em down on
the High Plains). Meanwhile, mineral severance taxes have expired
and industry tax breaks continue. The report says that mineral
companies in the nation’s number-one coal-producing state are also
getting a good deal when it comes to reporting and collecting
taxes. Presently, companies pay their tax bill under an honor
system that allows them to report their own production and taxes.
Not all companies are audited and when they are, the findings are
not made public. Before Wyoming tries to trim fat from a bare-bones
budget, the group recommends that the state restore mineral taxes
to historical levels and revamp the way Wyoming audits and collects
those taxes.
For a copy of the report,
Putting Together the Pieces …Wyoming’s Budget
Crisis, call 307/332-0156 or visit the Equality State
Policy Center’s Web site at
www.equalitystate.org.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Tax-averse Wyoming hurts itself.
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