Wyoming Lawmakers Float Plan To Completely Kill Residential Property Taxes

Yes, really. And yes, it gets complicated.

Wyoming lawmakers are kicking the hornet’s nest again, and this time the buzz is loud enough to shake even a Teton Village latte. According to a new report from CowboyStateDaily.com, the Legislature’s Joint Revenue Committee has advanced a plan that could eliminate residential property taxes entirely across the state. That’s right, no tax bill. None. Zip. Nada. A Wyoming homeowner’s dream, or a bureaucrat’s night terror, depending on who you ask.

Before you sprint to Zillow to price out your victory home in Bar None or Melody Ranch, here’s the part where reality taps the brakes: Lawmakers are pairing the property tax kill with a statewide sales-tax increase, jumping from 4 percent to 6 percent. And yes, here in Teton County, already at 7 percent, you can practically hear the collective groan.

The Proposal in a Nutshell

Lawmakers advanced five property-tax reform concepts, including a constitutional amendment that would ban residential property taxes altogether.
Eliminating them means wiping out roughly $644 million per year in local revenue, money that currently funds schools, roads, emergency services, snowplows, and other things Wyoming residents tend to enjoy.
To backfill the crater, one bill raises the statewide sales tax by two full points.
Critics call the move regressive, warning it will hit lower-income residents hardest while giving homeowners a major windfall.
Others warn it may distort the housing market, especially in places like Teton County, where a “no residential property tax” banner might as well be a bat-signal to wealthy second-home buyers.

What This Means for Jackson Hole

Here in Jackson, where “affordable housing” is defined as “anything under 3 million,” eliminating property taxes sounds like a gift wrapped by Santa himself and hand-delivered via sleigh to the Town Square. But the trade-offs matter:

Your tax bill might disappear, but your everyday purchases get pricier, from a tank of gas to the overpriced avocado toast you pretend not to order.
Local services could feel the squeeze. Teachers, snowplow drivers, firefighters, parks… all of that depends heavily on residential property tax revenue.
And the real estate market impact? Let’s just say it’s not hard to imagine a wave of “investment buyers” circling Jackson like ravens around a fresh bakery dumpster.

The Teton Take

As your loyal Jackson transplant and recovering East-Coast hustler, let me put it plainly:
This idea could be great.
This idea could be terrible.
This idea could also explode into a state-wide political food fight by February.

Yes, eliminating residential property taxes feels amazing on paper. But so did oat milk until we all found out it’s basically liquid carbohydrates with a marketing budget.

Wyoming voters will ultimately decide, because any property-tax elimination requires a constitutional amendment. And that means one thing: Get ready for one of the most Wyoming political debates ever, equal parts passionate, confusing, and wildly entertaining.

Stay tuned. Jackson Hole will definitely have thoughts.