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SF0030 • 2020

Reporting of property.

AN ACT relating to property taxes; revising the penalty for failing to report business property to the county assessor; requiring the department of audit to collect information during audits as specified; providing fees for nonreported and omitted business property; and providing for an effective date.

Crime Education Taxes
Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Revenue
Last action
2020-03-10
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2020

Plain English Breakdown

The bill did not pass and was not enacted into law.

Reporting Business Property

The bill changes rules about reporting business property to the county assessor and sets penalties for not doing so.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the penalty for failing to report business property from a misdemeanor with jail time or fines up to $500 to a fee of $10 per day, not exceeding $500.
  • Requires the department of audit to gather information about business property during audits and give it to the county assessor.
  • Adds a new rule that if someone does not report their business property by March 1 (or April 1 with an extension), they will be charged a fee.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Business owners who need to report their property to the county assessor.
  • The department of audit which must collect information about business property during audits.
  • County assessors who will enforce reporting rules and charge fees for noncompliance.

Terms To Know

Business Property
Taxable personal property owned by a business, excluding items used for personal or family use.
County Assessor
The official responsible for assessing the value of property for tax purposes in each county.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill did not pass and was not considered by the House Committee of the Whole on March 10, 2020.
  • It is unclear how many business owners will be affected by these changes since it did not become law.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

SF0030HW001

Committee of the Whole • Representative Zwonitzer

Filed

Plain English: The amendment changes where certain funds related to property taxes are sent, from the general fund to the county public school fund.

  • Changes 'general fund' to 'county public school fund' on page 2, line 10 of the bill.
  • Changes 'general fund' to 'county public school fund' on page 5, line 15 of the bill.
SF0030S3001

3rd reading • Senator Bouchard

Failed

Plain English: The amendment changes the penalty for failing to report business property from 25% to 5%, and adds a provision allowing the county assessor to waive this fee if the business operated at a loss in one of the previous three years, as shown by federal tax returns.

  • Reduces the penalty for not reporting business property from 25% to 5%
  • Adds a clause that allows the county assessor to waive the fee if the business had a loss in at least one year out of the last three years, based on federal tax returns
  • The amendment does not specify how the reduction from 25% to 5% will affect overall revenue or enforcement practices.

Bill History

  1. 2020-03-10 House

    H COW:H Did not consider for COW

  2. 2020-03-02 House

    H Placed on General File

  3. 2020-03-02 House

    H03 - Revenue:Recommend Do Pass 8-0-1-0-0

  4. 2020-02-25 House

    H Introduced and Referred to H03 - Revenue

  5. 2020-02-20 House

    H Received for Introduction

  6. 2020-02-20 Senate

    S 3rd Reading:Passed 17-13-0-0-0

  7. 2020-02-19 Senate

    S 3rd Reading:Laid Back

  8. 2020-02-18 Senate

    S 2nd Reading:Passed

  9. 2020-02-17 Senate

    S COW:Passed

  10. 2020-02-13 Senate

    S Placed on General File

  11. 2020-02-13 Senate

    S03 - Revenue:Recommend Do Pass 5-0-0-0-0

  12. 2020-02-11 Senate

    S Introduced and Referred to S03 - Revenue 27-2-1-0-0

  13. 2020-02-10 Senate

    S Received for Introduction

  14. 2020-01-08 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
20LSO-0089
2020
STATE OF WYOMING
20LSO-0089
Introduced
2.0

SENATE FILE NO. SF0030

Reporting of property.

Sponsored by: Joint Revenue Interim Committee

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to property taxes; revising the penalty for failing to report business property to the county assessor; requiring the department of audit to collect information during audits as specified; providing fees for nonreported and omitted business property; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.

W.S. 18
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3
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205(b), 39
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11
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108, 39
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13
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107(a)(i) and 39
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13
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108(c)(ii) by creating a new subparagraph (D) are amended to read:

18
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3
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205.

Interfering with assessor; failure to report property; penalties.

(b)

Any person who fails to
return any taxable property owned by him or under his control is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not exceeding
report business property as provided in W.S. 39
‑
13
‑
107(a)(i) may be assessed a fee of ten dollars ($10.00) for every day the report is not filed, not to exceed
five hundred dollars ($500.00)
.
, imprisoned in the county jail not exceeding ninety (90) days, or both

Civil fees under this subsection shall be added to the assessment for that taxpayer and shall be credited to the general fund of the county that collects the fees
.

39
‑
11
‑
108.

Enforcement.

There are no specific applicable provisions for enforcement for
Audits. In the course of any audit of a taxpayer under
this chapter
or chapter 13, 14, 15 or 16 of this title, the department of audit shall obtain a complete and detailed statement of the business property owned by or subject to
the control of the taxpayer as provided by W.S. 39
‑
13
‑
107(a)(i) and shall provide a copy of the statement to the county assessor of the county where the property is located.

39
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13
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107.

Compliance; collection procedures.

(a)

Returns and reports. The following shall apply:

(i)

Except as provided by chapter 14 of this title or paragraph (ii) of this subsection, annually, commencing on January 1, the county assessor or deputy assessors as provided by W.S. 18
‑
3
‑
107(e) shall obtain from each property owner or person having control of taxable property in the assessment district for which they were appointed, a full, complete and detailed statement of the amount of the taxable property owned by or subject to the control of the property owner. If a property owner fails to provide a listing of
personal
business
property owned by him or under his control by March 1, unless an extension is granted from the assessor in writing, the assessor shall issue an assessment of personal property from the best
information available. The county assessor shall extend the date for listing
personal
business
property from March 1 to April 1 upon written request of the property owner provided the written request is made not later than February 15.
As used in this paragraph, "business property" means taxable personal property and shall exclude any property that is exempt under W.S. 39
‑
11
‑
105(a)(xi) as personal property held for personal or family use.
The county assessor or his deputies or any representative of the department may examine any property. The county assessor or his deputies shall enter the fair market value of the property for taxation on the assessment roll. The owner, or his agent, shall make and subscribe the following oath:

I, ...., the owner of (or agent, etc., as the case may be) do solemnly swear (or affirm) that the above and foregoing listed property is a full, true, correct and complete list of all property owned by me or under my control as agent or otherwise, and that I have not failed or neglected to list for taxation for the year ...., all property of which I am the owner or of which I have control as agent, guardian, administrator or otherwise, in the
county of ...., State of Wyoming, and that I have not connived at any violation or evasion of the requirements of law in relation to the assessment of property for taxation.;

39
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13
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108.

Enforcement.

(c)

Offenses and penalties. The following shall apply:

(ii)

Penalties. The following shall apply:

(D)

If any person knowingly omits business property from the report required by W.S. 39
‑
13
‑
107(a)(i), the county assessor may impose a fee not to exceed a total of twenty
‑
five percent (25%) of the tax owed on the omitted property. The county assessor may waive the fee under this subparagraph for good cause. Fees imposed under this subparagraph may be appealed to the county board of equalization. Civil fees collected under this subparagraph shall be credited to the general fund of the county that collects the fees.

Section 2
.

This act is effective July 1, 2020
.

(END)

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SF0030