Energy boosts Wyoming's tax income at start of year

Sales and use tax revenue in Wyoming accelerated to $3.9 billion for the first few months of 2018, thanks largely to a buoyed energy sector.

The total income from sales and use taxes increased by 64 percent in Converse County, the center of current oil interest, and 50 percent in Sublette County, home to the state’s large gas fields, from the start of 2017 to the beginning of this year, according to an economic summary from state economist Wenlin Liu released Monday.

Liu said improvements are also happening nationally, thanks to debt-funded tax cuts from the U.S. Congress and government spending, though the rapid growth could stall.

For Wyoming, the gains are largely from energy industries picking up after a traumatic downturn that plunged Wyoming into a recession. The turnaround is particularly visible in the oil sector, according to the report.

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