Governor Mead Doesn’t Favor New Taxes
Wyoming Governor Matt Mead says adding taxes to things like wind and groceries to make up for the state's revenue shortfall will "put the entire state into an economic death spiral."
"I think we need to be very cautious before we say we're going to have new taxes," said Mead. "Every bit helps, but we can't tax our way out of a mineral shortfall."
State revenues are being hit hard by falling coal production, an industry that accounts for roughly 70 percent of Wyoming's revenue, and Mead has warned state agencies to brace for the possibility of more budget cuts when the Legislature convenes in January.
"Before we go that route, as I've been saying, I think we need to continue to look at the rainy day fund," said Mead. "How much of that are we going to use and how are we going to use it?"
"I get people saying why are you going to tax us more when we have one of the largest rainy day funds of any state," added Mead. "If we say we're not going to use any of it and we're going to cut and raise taxes, then we better have a pretty good reason why we would want to do that and at this point, for me, I don't see that reason."