CASPER, Wyo. — The statewide 4% sales and use tax generated $1.077 billion in revenue for the State of Wyoming in fiscal year 2022, a 10.1% increase from FY 2021, according to a report from the Wyoming Economic Analysis Division released Thursday.
Revenues from the 4% statewide sales tax, not considering the use tax, rose 11.3% from the previous fiscal year, reversing a 5.2% decline seen in FY 2021 compared with FY 2020, the Economic Analysis Division said.
“With the strong rebound, the amount of total sales and use taxes for fiscal year 2022 nearly reached the record level of fiscal year 2015,” Dr. Wenlin Liu, Chief Economist with the Economic Analysis Division, said. “However, it’s still 19.1 percent less if measured in inflation-adjusted dollars.”
The retail trade sector, which is the largest sector in terms of sales and use tax collections, saw collections rise 15% in FY 2022 compared with FY 2021. Online shopping, a subsector of retail trade, saw collections jump 18.4%. Leisure and hospitality sales and use tax collections rose 30%.
“Manufacturing, transportation, and auto & machinery leasing industries that act in tandem with mineral extraction operations, also grew more than 26.0 percent respectively,” the Economic Analysis Division said. “Mining, Wyoming’s pivotal industry, reversed its trends of FY 2020 and FY 2021, and demonstrated the fastest growth of 57.5 percent due to the rebound in exploration activities. However, the amount collected from this industry remains 34.0 percent lower than FY 2020.”
A reduction in wind power project activities contributed to a 24% decline in sales and use tax collections from wholesale trade and other services, the Economic Analysis Division said.
Local governments are able to impose an additional 1% general purpose sales and use tax plus a 1% special purpose sales and use tax beyond the 4% statewide tax. When drawing year-to-year comparisons, the Economic Analysis Division said only the 4% statewide tax should be considered given that local tax impositions can change.
Looking at the 4% statewide tax on a county-by-county basis without considering optional local taxes, Campbell County saw the largest increase in collections in FY 2022, up 36.5% compared with FY 2021. Platte County saw a 30.6% increase and Teton County saw a 29.3% increase. Other counties that saw over 20% increases included Johnson and Sublette, the Economic Analysis Division said.
“These counties benefited from either a rebound in mineral activities and/or booming outdoor and recreation tourism in FY 2022,” Liu said.
Carbon County saw a 41.3% decline in 4% statewide sales and use tax collections due to reduced wind energy activity, the Economic Analysis Division said.
The report also looked at lodging tax collections.
“Attributing to record-breaking outdoor and park visitations, as well as a substantial increase in lodging prices, every county experienced a strong increase in lodging tax collections,” Liu said.
Not counting the statewide lodging tax that went into effect Jan. 1, 2021, lodging tax collections across the state totaled $28.1 million in FY 2022, up 49.4% from FY 2021, the Economic Analysis Division said. Collections from the new 3% statewide lodging tax totaled $30.9 million during FY 2022.
The full report can be reviewed below:
