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HB 1002: SALES AND USE TAX - 1997 Special Session Sponsor: Management Council In the 1993 general session, the Legislature added a fourth cent of sales tax to the then-existing statewide three cents on the dollar (counties may impose up to an additional two cents by a vote of the people for general operations or capital facilities). The 1993 legislation set the fourth cent to expire on June 30, 1996, unless continued by legislative action. The fourth cent was renewed in 1995 for another two years (until June 30, 1998) because of looming budget deficits. HB 1002, offered during the 1997 special session on education funding, extended the additional fourth cent again, until June 30, 2002. The fourth cent will generate approximately $58 million annually for the General Fund and $22 million annually for local governments. Sales tax is one of the two primary sources of revenue to Wyoming's General Fund (the other is interest from severance taxes deposited permanently in the Wyoming Permanent Mineral Trust Fund). It is also a critical source of revenue to local governments. Sales of services (as opposed to tangible personal property) and a variety of other items are exempt from sales tax. The Joint Revenue Interim Committee looked at these exemptions in the 1994-95 interim and the 1995-96 interim and was unable to come to any agreement on possible changes. Sales tax is generally considered a regressive form of taxation, especially when food and clothing are included, as they are in Wyoming. Sales taxes take a larger bite out of a low-income family's budget because those living on lower incomes tend to spend a larger proportion of their money on items subject to sales tax. (For further information on the impact of sales taxes, please refer to the chart at the end of the Taxation & Revenue section which compares the relative effect of the property and sales tax increases proposed in 1998.) Proponents of continuing the fourth cent of statewide sales tax argued that it was necessary to ensure adequate revenues for education and other purposes. Those opposing continuation of the fourth cent emphasized the regressive nature of the tax, as well as the unfairness of enacting tax breaks for industry while raising taxes on citizens. HB 1002 passed the House, 45-15, and the Senate, 24-6. The votes listed below are the third reading (final passage) votes in the House and the Senate. A YES vote means the legislator favored extending the fourth cent of statewide sales tax until June 30, 2002. A NO vote means the legislator opposed extending the fourth cent of statewide sales tax.
www.equalitystate.org Copyright 1999, Equality State Policy Center | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||