Wyoming Ballot Initiative Aims to Slash Resident Property Taxes in Half

Three Wyomingites have formed a "pack" in the hopes of getting tax relief for Cowboy State residents. Their group is aptly named BCR, which stands for Brent, Cheryl, and Rich.

Brent Bien is a former Republican governor candidate and Rich Weber was his campaign manager. Cheryl Aguiar is a PHD and was a past committee of applicants member for a previous Wyoming Initiative to end cross-over voting in Wyoming.

This initiative's goal is to tax only half of a residential property's fair market value. The break would only apply to one property per applicant.

For the initiative to make its way onto the 2024 election ballot, it needs nearly 30,000 signatures before Feb. 12. Weber says the last time they counted they were about 60% of the way there. He added that in order to count, a signee must be a registered voter.

Wyoming is currently the 7th highest taxed state per capita and property values are climbing. The median home sale price rose 3.1% year-over-year from $417,000 to $430,000 in September and is expected to continue to go up due to Wyoming's tight inventory.

Realtor.com's housing market report shows that Natrona County's median home price was listed at $360,000, that's up 5.9% from 2022.

Even if the initiative makes it to the ballot in November, it would still need to be voted into law and then it wouldn't go into effect until 2025.

Weber says they've received pushback from government officials who aren't keen on losing over $100 million, but with billions in savings, Weber thinks they'll be okay.

"Tax reform is needed now," said Weber.  "There are tax liens on over 3000 homes in Wyoming. People can't pay the government rent but we have $28 billion in reserve and added another $1.4 billion last February. People come first, not big government. Look at your elected officials. Will cutting $137 million in 2025 hurt Wyoming? No but it will help folks keep their homes."

See the initiative here.