Wyoming looks to broaden sales tax, change state sales tax rate
- Jan 28, 2019 | Gail Cole
Competing measures pertaining to sales and use tax have been introduced in the Wyoming Legislature. House Bill 67 would broaden sales and use tax to certain services, repeal certain sales tax exemptions, and reduce the state sales and use tax rate. House Bill 266 would increase the sales and use tax rate and change the way sales and use tax revenue is distributed within the state. The effective date of both bills is July 1, 2019.
Tax the following services
The following services would be subject to sales and use tax under HB 67:
- Agricultural services, including but not limited to landscape consulting and planning, lawn and garden services, and veterinary services (except those provided for farm or ranch livestock)
- Amusement and recreation services, including but not limited to bowling centers, dance halls, dance schools, dance studios, golf courses (public), membership sports clubs, and physical fitness centers
- Business services, including but not limited to building maintenance, commercial art and graphic design, computer programming, court reporting, data processing, disinfecting and pest control; business services will not include banking or legal services
- Engineering and management services, including but not limited to accounting, architectural, auditing, bookkeeping, commercial research, engineering, facilities support, management and management consulting, real estate, and surveying services
- Personal services, including but not limited to beauty shops, barber shops, and tax return preparation; personal services will not include funeral or crematory services
Repeal the following sales tax exemptions
Existing sales and use tax exemptions for the following would be repealed under HB 67:
- Food for domestic home consumption
- Manufacturing machinery
- Purchase or rental of items utilized by a data processing service center
New state sales and use tax rate
Finally, HB 67 would reduce the state sales and use tax rate from 4 percent to 3.5 percent. Local sales and use tax rates would be unaffected.
On the other hand, HB 266 seeks to increase the state sales and use tax rate from 4 percent to 4.5 percent. It wouldn’t change the taxability of food, manufacturing machinery, items used by a data processing service center, or services.
Another measure under consideration, House Bill 69, would require marketplace facilitators to collect and remit tax on behalf of their third-party sellers. It doesn’t seek to change the state sales tax rate or the taxability of goods and services. And a 5 percent state sales tax on lodging services has been proposed in House Bill 66, which would take effect January 1, 2020.
