Proposed statewide lodging tax advances in Wyoming Legislature

CHEYENNE – Tax reform – not tax increases – is a priority for Republican leadership in the Wyoming legislature this year.

Speaker of the House Steve Harshman, however, was in attendance Monday at a meeting of the Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee to advocate for one piece of legislation that will actually introduce new revenue.

The 5 percent statewide tax would be split into two components — a 3 percent tax levied statewide, and the option for a local tax up to 2 percent — that in theory, would fund the state’s tourism budget independently from the state’s primary spending account.

According to advocates of the bill, this legislation would allow tourism to become self-sufficient and would remove tourism funding — which is an easy target in times of fiscal hardship — from the ups-and-downs of the energy sector, which determines the health of the state’s general fund.

Read more: https://trib.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/proposed-statewide-lodging-tax-advances-in-wyoming-legislature/article_5aa025a1-3822-5b85-aec6-86dcfa67cba4.html