Wyoming committee reviews state-property tax exemption after Supreme Court case and 2025 law change

A Wyoming interim committee spent extended discussion time on whether property owned by government entities should be taxable and, if so, which parts — land or improvements — counties can assess. The review followed a Wyoming Supreme Court decision about a parcel held for a state hospital and a legislative response in 2025.

The court case involved a little over a 3-acre parcel of state land held for the state hospital that had been leased to a private party running a gas station since 1999. "The county assessor reclassified the land as taxable," said Josh Anderson of the Legislative Service Office, describing events, "and sent a tax assessment on the property in 2021, which was not appealed and was paid by the lessee. Then in 2022 [the county] sent another assessment that was appealed by the state." The court rejected the state's arguments for an implied exemption based on ownership or management and said exemptions must be expressly created by the legislature. Anderson summarized the legislative response: "The legislature passed Senate File 81 last year," adding that the bill created a temporary, express exemption for all state lands, and that change is scheduled to be repealed on 01/01/2027.

Why it matters: whether state-owned…