October 22, 2004
Room 302, Capitol Building
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Senator Jayne Mockler, Chairman
Representative Rodney “Pete” Anderson
Representative Tom Lockhart
Brenda Arnold, Laramie County Assessor
Wade Hall, Department of Revenue
Casey Parker, Attorney General's Office
Bobby Rolston, Anadarko Corporation
Ken Uhrich, Department of Revenue
Michael Walden-Newman, Wyoming Taxpayer's Association
Liz Zerga, Attorney
Mark Quiner, Assistant Director
Please refer to
Appendix 1 to review the Committee Sign-in Sheet
for a list of other individuals who attended the meeting.
Chairman Mockler called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m.. Mr. Quiner called the roll. Chairman Mockler then had all the members of the audience introduce themselves and indicate who they were representing. The following sections summarize the Subcommittee proceedings by topic. The meeting generally followed the prepared agenda. Attachment 2.
Ms. Casey Parker, Attorney General's Office, informed the Subcommittee that Verizon Wireless and the Department of Revenue had settled the case for current tax years. However, this does not change the issue of intangibles for future tax years.
Ms. Brenda Arnold, Laramie County Assessor, explained her suggested solution for keeping property in the 9.5% tax classification at status quo (with the inclusion of intangibles) for the current tax years until a permanent solution is reached. Attachment 3. Three approaches were presented in Attachment 3: amend the definition of real property to include intangible property, define intangible real property, or amend the property tax exemption statute.
Following discussion, Representative Anderson moved that a bill be drafted for submission to the Joint Revenue Interim Committee to address the first option. The motion passed.
Chairman Mockler explained the list of intangibles by category that she and Don Richards of LSO worked on. Attachment 4. Chairman Mockler indicated the list was just for study by the Subcommittee.
Chairman Mockler explained there are two proposals for a bill draft for an interim study on the topic of intangible property taxation.
Ms. Liz Zerga and Ms. Casey Parker explained their respective proposals for the interim study. Attachments 5 & 6. Representative Anderson explained his proposed amendment to the study bill. Attachment 7.
Mr. Norm Ross, Pacificorp, provided information on the 2003 Wyoming property assessment. Attachment 8. He indicated that centrally assessed non-minerals property represents around 7% of the total state's assessed value. The majority of the intangible property that the Subcommittee is discussing if exempted by the Department of Revenue is less than 0.2% of the total state assessed value.
Following discussion, the Subcommittee proposed a bill draft to create a joint task force composed of members from the public and private sectors to study the issue of intangibles in-depth during the 2005 interim. The bill would basically incorporate the draft by Ms. Parker except create a task force.
Mr. Bobby Rolston moved that the bill be drafted as agreed upon by the Subcommittee for submission to the Joint Revenue Interim Committee. The motion passed.
Mr. Ken Uhrich and Mr. Wade Hall of the Department of Revenue explained the information on the 2004 tax year summary including 2004 state assessed values. Attachments 9 & 10.
Following discussion, Representative Anderson moved that a bill be drafted for submission to the Joint Revenue Interim Committee with the following language: "For the tax year 2005, the department of revenue shall exempt from property taxation all intangible property that is separately identified from the taxpayer's books and records or is reported on the taxpayer's federal tax returns." The motion passed.
There being no further business, Chairman Mockler adjourned the meeting at 12:00 pm..
Respectfully submitted,
Senator Jayne Mockler, Chairman