§ 39-13-102 — Administration; confidentiality

(a) Repealed by Laws 2017, ch. 26, § 2.
(b) Repealed by Laws 2017, ch. 26, § 2.
(c) The board of county commissioners of each county
constitutes the county board of equalization. The county board
shall meet at the office of the county commissioners at such
times as necessary to perform its statutory duties, but no
earlier than the fourth Tuesday in April to consider current
year assessments. The county clerk shall act as clerk of the
county board. The county assessor or his designee shall attend
all meetings to explain or defend the assessments. The county
board of equalization shall:
(i) Repealed by Laws 2017, ch. 26, § 2.
(ii) Repealed by Laws 2017, ch. 26, § 2.
(iii) Approve any corrected assessment or any
valuation change contained in the assessment roll;
(iv) Hear and determine the complaint of any person
relative to any property assessment or value as returned by the
county assessor subject to W.S. 39-13-109(b)(i). The county
board of equalization may request that a case be certified
directly to the state board of equalization as provided in W.S.
39-11-102.1(c). If the case involves property that may subject
the county to tax liability, the county board of equalization
shall certify the case directly to the state board of
equalization and the board of county commissioners shall have
standing to appeal any decision made by the state board of
equalization regarding the property;
(v) Decide all protests heard and provide the
protestant with a written decision no later than October 1.
(d) The county board of equalization has no power to and
shall not set tax policy nor engage in any administrative duties
concerning assessments which are delegated to the board, the
department or the county assessor.
(e) Not later than June 1, the county assessor shall make
an abstract of the assessment roll containing the quantity and
value of each class of property assessed for taxation and
transmit the abstract to the board and provide a copy to the
county board of equalization. The board shall immediately
forward copies of the abstracts to the department and ask for
any recommendations.
(f) Any person whose property assessment has been
increased by an equalization order shall be notified of the
increase by the county assessor. Any person wishing to review an
assessment of his property may contact the county assessor.
(g) On or before the first Monday of August, the board of
county commissioners shall by order entered of record levy the
requisite taxes for the year. On or before the third Monday in
August the county assessor shall compute the taxes from the
corrected valuations as corrected by the state board and entered
by the county assessor in the column of corrected valuations.
The county assessor shall deliver the tax list and his warrant
for the collection of the taxes to the county treasurer setting
forth the assessment roll, with the taxes extended, containing
in tabular form and alphabetical order the names of persons in
whose names property has been listed in the county, with the
classes of property and the value, total amount of taxes and
column of numbers and values and total taxes footed commanding
the treasurer to collect the taxes. At the end of the tax list
and warrant, the county assessor shall prorate the total taxes
levied to the several funds.
(h) The county treasurer upon receiving the tax list and
warrant shall immediately proceed to collect the taxes levied
for the current year and taxes remaining unpaid from preceding
years.
(j) The county assessor may authorize changes in the
assessment roll or tax list at any time to correct errors in the
name of a person taxed or to enter omitted property and its
assessed value.
(k) On or before September 1, county assessors shall
certify the exemptions granted pursuant to W.S.
39-11-105(a)(xxiv) to the department. On or before October 1 the
state treasurer out of funds appropriated for that purpose shall
reimburse each county treasurer for the amount of taxes which
would have been collected if the property was not exempt. The
county treasurer shall distribute the revenue to each
governmental entity in the actual amount of taxes lost due to
the exemption.
(m) The department shall annually value and assess the
following property at its fair market value for taxation:
(i) The gross product of all mines and mining claims;
(ii) Property of pipeline companies;
(iii) Property of electric utilities;
(iv) Property of railroad companies;
(v) Property of rail car companies;
(vi) Property of telecommunications companies;
(vii) Property of other public utilities;
(viii) Leased property consisting of warehouses,
storage facilities and office structures and any other property
that is in support of or which is used or held for use for the
activities listed in this subsection. If leased property is
assessed to the lessee it shall not be assessed to the property
owner;
(ix) Property of cable or satellite television
companies;
(x) Property of airline companies used for the public
transportation of passengers or property for hire.
(n) Following determination of the fair market value of
property the department shall notify the taxpayer by mail or, if
offered by the department and upon request of the taxpayer, by
electronic transmission of the assessed value. The person
assessed may file written objections to the assessment with the
board within thirty (30) days of the date of postmark or the
date of electronic transmission, whichever is earlier, and
appear before the board at a time specified by the board. For
purposes of this subsection, if a written objection is mailed or
sent by electronic transmission by the person assessed, it shall
be deemed timely filed if it is postmarked or transmitted not
later than thirty (30) days after the mailing or electronic
transmission of the notification of the assessed value. The
person assessed shall also file a copy of the written objections
with the county treasurer of the county in which the property is
located, who shall notify the county assessor and the board of
county commissioners, with an estimate of the tax amount under
appeal based upon the previous year's tax levy.
(o) Annually, on or before the dates hereafter indicated,
or as soon thereafter as the fair market value is determined,
the department shall certify the valuation determined by the
department to the county assessor of the county in which the
property is located, to be entered upon the assessment rolls of
the county:
(i) June 1, mines and mining claims, pipeline
companies, electric utilities and other public utilities;
(ii) First Monday in June, telephone and telegraph
companies;
(iii) First Monday in July, railroad companies.
(p) Any governmental entity with authority to levy or
require the levy of property taxes which is formed or organized
or which changes its geographical boundaries shall cause one (1)
copy of the legal description which is contained within the
document authorizing formation or modification of boundaries and
one (1) copy of an official map designating the geographical
boundaries as formed or changed to be filed with the department
and with the county clerk and county assessor in the county or
counties within which the entity is located within ten (10) days
after the effective date of the formation, and annually, by a
date determined by the department, if the governmental entity
levies or requires the levy of taxes and has changes to its
geographical boundaries by annexation, enlargement, merger,
consolidation, exclusion or dissolution. Failure to file the
required documents within the required time relieves the county
assessor and the department from responsibility of modifying the
assessment roll to reflect the property in the new entity or
changed boundary area.
(q) Confidentiality. The following shall apply:
(i) All taxpayer returns and return information shall
be confidential and, except as authorized below, no current or
former official, officer, employee or agent of the state of
Wyoming or any political subdivision thereof shall disclose any
such information obtained by him in connection with his service
as an officer or employee. As used in this subsection,
"taxpayer returns and return information" shall include, but not
be limited to, all statements, reports, summaries and all other
data and documents under audit or provided by the taxpayer in
accordance with law;
(ii) Without written authorization from the taxpayer,
no current or former official, officer, employee or agent of the
state of Wyoming or any political subdivision thereof shall
release taxpayer returns and return information pertaining to
taxes imposed by this chapter, except:
(A) Information filed with the department may be
released to the governor or his designee, members of the state
board of equalization, to the commissioners and employees of the
public service commission, to employees of the department of
audit, the department of revenue, the consensus revenue
estimating group and to the attorney general. Information filed
with the county assessor may be released to the county board of
equalization, the department of revenue and the department of
audit;
(B) Upon prior notice to the taxpayer,
information filed with the department may be released by the
department, upon written application, to any other governmental
entity if the governmental entity shows sufficient reason to
obtain the information for official business;
(C) Information concerning taxpayer's valuation
and assessment shall be made available on a confidential basis
to the county board of equalization and the state board of
equalization when the information is pertinent to an appeal
before either board;
(D) Any other use authorized by law;
(E) An itemized list of the taxpayer's taxable
tangible personal property provided to the assessor pursuant to
W.S. 39-13-107(a)(i) may be disclosed to a new owner of property
that is the subject of the taxpayer's returns or return
information upon a transfer of that taxable tangible personal
property to the new owner.
(iii) Any person receiving information pursuant to
paragraph (ii) of this subsection shall sign an agreement with
the department to keep the information confidential;
(iv) The taxable value of the taxpayer's property is
not confidential and may be released without qualification;
(v) Any person who negligently violates the
provisions of this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and
upon conviction shall be fined not more than one thousand
dollars ($1,000.00). Any person who intentionally violates the
provisions of this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and
upon conviction shall be fined not less than one thousand
dollars ($1,000.00), but not more than five thousand dollars
($5,000.00) and imprisoned for not more than one (1) year.