AN ACT relating to property taxation; providing an exemption for de minimis business property subject to specified requirements; providing a civil fee for failing to report property to the county assessor and repealing the criminal penalty; and providing for an effective date.
CrimeSmall BusinessTaxes
Enacted
This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.
Sponsor
Senator Ellis
Last action
2021-04-14
Official status
enrolled
Effective date
1/1/2022
Plain English Breakdown
The bill summary does not provide specific information on how the $20 fee for claiming the exemption is distributed.
Property Tax Reporting and Exemption Act
This law changes penalties for failing to report business property taxes from criminal to civil, sets a fee of $5 per day up to $250, and exempts small amounts of business property valued at less than $2,400 in fair market value.
What This Bill Does
Changes the penalty for failing to report taxable personal property from a misdemeanor punishable by fine or imprisonment to a civil fee of five dollars ($5.00) per day up to two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00).
Provides an exemption for business property valued at less than $2,400 in fair market value.
Requires those seeking the exemption to pay a $20 fee and sign an oath when filing their statement of property value or declaration of exemption.
Who It Names or Affects
People who own business property and need to report it for taxes.
Taxpayers with small amounts of business property who qualify for the exemption.
County assessors responsible for collecting tax information.
Terms To Know
de minimis
Very small or insignificant in amount, often used to describe exemptions from taxes for very low-value items.
fair market value
The price at which an asset would trade when both buyer and seller are knowledgeable, have access to all relevant information, and are under no compulsion to buy or sell.
Limits and Unknowns
Does not specify how the $20 fee for claiming the exemption is distributed.
The effectiveness of changing penalties from criminal to civil may vary in practice.
Amendments
These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.
Plain English: The amendment removes language related to a property tax exemption, changes the amount of certain fees, and deletes specific sections of text from the bill.
Removes references to an exemption for de minimis business property in the title and body of the bill.
Changes the civil fee for failing to report property to the county assessor from $10.00 to $5.00.
Reduces the maximum penalty amount from $500.00 to $250.00.
The amendment deletes several lines of text without specifying what those sections contained, which limits a full understanding of all changes made.
Plain English: The amendment reduces the civil fee for failing to report property to the county assessor from $10 to $5, and also decreases another related fee from $500 to $250.
Changes the initial non-reporting penalty from ten dollars ($10.00) to five dollars ($5.00).
Reduces a higher-level penalty from five hundred dollars ($500.00) to two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00).
The amendment does not provide details on when these penalties apply or the specific circumstances under which they are imposed.
Plain English: The amendment removes parts of the bill that talk about exemptions for small business property, reporting requirements to county assessors, and penalties for not reporting.
Removes language in the catch title related to an exemption.
Deletes provisions requiring businesses to report their property to the county assessor.
Eliminates sections detailing civil fees and criminal penalties for failing to report property.
The amendment text does not provide details on what will replace these removed sections, if anything.
Plain English: The amendment removes the term 'Civil' and deletes lines related to a specific requirement in the bill about property tax-reporting and exemption.
Removes the word 'Civil' from the text.
Deletes two lines of text that were part of the original bill.
The exact content of the deleted lines is not provided, so their specific details cannot be explained.
Plain English: The amendment removes the term 'de minimis' from certain sections of the bill and increases a specified dollar amount from $2,400 to $10,000.
Removes the phrase 'de minimis' in multiple places within the bill text.
Increases the monetary threshold from two thousand four hundred dollars ($2,400.00) to ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00).
The amendment does not provide context for why 'de minimis' is being removed or what specific sections of the bill are affected.
It's unclear how removing 'de minimis' will impact the overall intent and application of the bill.
Plain English: The amendment modifies the bill to require a fee for claiming an exemption on de minimis business property, removes certain reporting requirements, and repeals a criminal penalty.
Adds a requirement that property owners pay a $20 fee when seeking an exemption under W.S. 39-11-105(a)(xlii).
Repeals the criminal penalty for failing to report property to the county assessor, replacing it with a new civil procedure.
Removes specific lines and sections related to reporting deadlines and penalties.
The amendment text does not provide full context or details about all changes made, which may make some aspects unclear without reviewing the original bill.
Plain English: The amendment changes the term 'actual value' to 'fair market value' in a property tax-related bill.
Replaces the phrase 'actual value' with 'fair market value'.
This summary does not explain how this change affects other parts of the bill or its overall impact.
Bill History
2021-04-14LSO
Assigned Chapter Number 158
2021-04-14Governor
Governor Signed SEA No. 0067
2021-04-06House
H Speaker Signed SEA No. 0067
2021-04-06Senate
S President Signed SEA No. 0067
2021-04-05LSO
Assigned Number SEA No. 0067
2021-04-02Senate
S Concur:Passed 22-7-1-0-0
2021-04-02Senate
S Received for Concurrence
2021-04-02House
H 3rd Reading:Passed 35-24-1-0-0
2021-04-01House
H 3rd Reading:Laid Back
2021-03-31House
H 2nd Reading:Passed
2021-03-30House
H COW:Passed
2021-03-25House
H Placed on General File
2021-03-25House
H03 - Revenue:Recommend Do Pass 9-0-0-0-0
2021-03-19House
H Introduced and Referred to H03 - Revenue
2021-03-09House
H Received for Introduction
2021-03-08Senate
S 3rd Reading:Passed 18-12-0-0-0
2021-03-08Senate
S 3rd Reading:Bill Reconsideration Motion Passed by Roll Call 20-10-0-0-0
2021-03-08Senate
S 3rd Reading:Failed 15-14-1-0-0
2021-03-05Senate
S 2nd Reading:Passed
2021-03-04Senate
S COW:Passed
2021-03-01Senate
S Placed on General File
2021-03-01Senate
S03 - Revenue:Recommend Amend and Do Pass 4-1-0-0-0
2021-02-05Senate
S Introduced and Referred to S03 - Revenue
2021-02-05Senate
S Received for Introduction
2021-02-04LSO
Bill Number Assigned
Official Summary Text
Bill Summary - 21LSO-0291
Bill No.:
SF0085
Effective:
1/1/2022 12:00:00 AM
LSO No.:
21LSO-0291
Enrolled Act No.:
SEA No. 0067
Chapter No.:
158
Prime Sponsor:
Ellis
Catch Title:
Property tax-reporting and exemption.
Subject:
Taxable personal property
.
Summary/Major Elements:
Current law provides that a failure to report taxable personal property is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00), imprisonment for not more than ninety (90) days, or both.
This bill repeals the criminal penalty and specifies that a failure to report is subject to a civil penalty of five dollars ($5.00) per day, not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00), which shall be added to the property tax assessment of the taxpayer.
This bill also provides a property tax exemption for a person with less than two thousand four hundred dollars ($2,400.00) in business property which the bill makes exempt as de minimis business property.
The above summary is not an official publication of the Wyoming Legislature and is not an official statement of legislative intent.
While the Legislative Service Office endeavored to provide accurate information in this summary, it should not be relied upon as a comprehensive abstract of the bill.
Current Bill Text
Read the full stored bill text
21LSO-0291
ORIGINAL Senate
ENGROSSED
File No
.
SF0085
ENROLLED ACT NO. 67,
SENATE
SIXTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2021 General Session
AN ACT relating to property taxation; providing an exemption for de minimis business property subject to specified requirements; providing a civil fee for failing to report property to the county assessor and repealing the criminal penalty; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1.
W.S. 18
‑
3
‑
205(b) and 39
‑
11
‑
105(a) by creating a new paragraph (xlii) are amended to read:
18
‑
3
‑
205.
Interfering with assessor; failure to return property; penalties.
(b)
Any person who fails to
return any
report
taxable property
owned by him or under his control is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00), imprisoned in the county jail not exceeding ninety (90) days, or both
as provided in W.S. 39
‑
13
‑
107(a)(i) may be assessed a civil fee of five dollars ($5.00) for every day the report is not filed, not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00)
.
Civil fees under this subsection shall be added to the assessment for that taxpayer.
39
‑
11
‑
105.
Exemptions.
(a)
The following property is exempt from property taxation:
(xlii)
If a person owns two thousand four hundred dollars ($2,400.00) or less in fair market value of business property in one (1) county, the business property shall be exempt as de minimis business property. As used in this paragraph, "business property" means taxable personal
property excluding any property that is exempt under W.S. 39
‑
11
‑
105(a)(xi) as personal property held for personal or family use.
Section 2
.
This act is effective January 1, 2022
.
(END)
Speaker of the House
President of the Senate
Governor
TIME APPROVED: _________
DATE APPROVED: _________
I hereby certify that this act originated in the Senate.
Chief Clerk
1