Wyoming Gubernatorial Candidate Takes Aim At Property Taxes
Wyoming gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell says one of his primary goals if elected would be to slash taxes, adding he especially would like to cut or eliminate property taxes.
Property taxes in Wyoming mostly fund local government and schools.
Rammell, who is running on the Constitution Party ticket, says one of his big goals would be to reduce or eliminate property taxes in Wyoming. He says it's "so Un-American to tell someone that if you don't pay what we assess you, we are going to take your home. I would like to see the property tax absolutely removed." He made the comments in an interview with KGAB radio in Cheyenne on Friday.
Rammell says he considers sales taxes ''the most fair thing."
But Rammell admits that since property taxes mostly go to fund schools and local government operations, ''there would have to be adjustments at the county level." Rammel says spending cuts are needed, as well as audits of all state agencies to find out where money could be saved.
In regard to school funding, Rammell says ''money is not the solution." He says Wyoming is already among the top ten states in the nation in terms of funding per student but isn't getting results to match that level of spending. He says instead Wyoming should look to states such as Utah as a model for educational success.
He says that could include incorporating more charter schools and school choice for parents as ways to improve education. Rammell has run for numerous public offices in Idaho and Wyoming over the past couple of decades but has never been elected. He most recently ran for Wyoming's lone congressional seat as a Republican in 2016.
Rammell faces Republican nominee Mark Gordon, Democrat Mary Throne and Libertarian Lawrence Struempf on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.