The Wyoming Association of Realtors is promoting an amendment to the state constitution that would prohibit an idea long pushed by some in Teton County – a real estate transfer tax.

The organization will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. Thursday in Cheyenne to announce the launch of its Protect Wyoming’s Land and Homes Campaign.

Brett McPeak, a local representative for the association, said the measure is aimed at protecting property owners’ equity.

“Nationwide, government entities are trying to find different revenue streams to balance their budgets,” he said. “The one the real estate community, in particular, feels like should not be the first place that government goes is people’s equity in their homes.”

McPeak said his group worries that if a transfer tax is ever implemented, it would be paid by the seller, thus eating away at profits.

The organization is working on getting a constitutional amendment passed by the Legislature in 2010. If lawmakers approve the measure with a two-thirds majority, it would be sent to voters for approval during the November 2010 general election.

In the past, Clarene Law, who formerly served in the Wyoming House, backed the transfer tax. Along with others, she advocated for a tax that targeted second and expensive homes.

Past proposals suggested levying little to no taxes on homes priced under a certain amount. The proposed levy increased incrementally as a home’s sale price increased.

Some suggested the tax be used to pay for affordable housing since high-priced homes in Jackson Hole usually create the need for laborers such as gardeners, cleaners, caretakers and others in the service industry.

Rep. Keith Gingery, R-Jackson, said he has not been a supporter of the real estate transfer tax. That doesn’t mean he supports making the tax unconstitutional.

“I disagree with placing prohibitions in the constitution that limit the Legislature in utilizing tools that they may need to use in the future,” he said. “So my position is a little bit nuanced. I do not support the real estate transfer tax, but I do not agree with what the Wyoming Realtors tried in 2008 and what they are proposing to try again in 2010.”

Last year, the Wyoming Legislature considered a bill that would have put a similar measure banning real-estate transfer taxes on the ballot in November. The resolution would have asked voters if they would like to add a single sentence to the constitution that reads, “No tax shall be levied upon the transfer of title to or an interest in real property.”

Last year, legislators in Cheyenne reported receiving more than 20 e-mails from Jackson Hole real estate agents, the vast majority of which were form letters in favor of the bill.

Still, the bill was defeated.

Under current regulations, Wyoming could levy a real-estate transfer tax, which is essentially a sales tax on real estate. Previous efforts to institute the tax have failed, including bills that would have allowed counties to decide whether to implement the tax locally.

Jackson’s elected officials have long eyed a real-estate transfer tax as a way to augment the town’s tax revenue without having to implement a property tax.

Town Administrator Bob McLaurin said he’s unsure why a constitutional amendment is being pursued because he doesn’t think state lawmakers would ever approve a transfer tax.

“It doesn’t have very much support in the Legislature,” he said. “The last time it was there, it didn’t get a single vote in the revenue committee.”

Still, McLaurin said he sees a real estate transfer tax as a good option for Teton County, particularly with its high real estate values. Rather than paying taxes annually, this would be a one-time fee.

“It doesn’t effect sales or commission,” McLaurin said.

Resort towns in Colorado, including Vail, Telluride and Crested Butte, all have transfer taxes, he said.

“It’s a common way to generate revenue, particularly in a high-value market,” he said.

According to Gingery, this year the Realtors hired a polling company to survey Wyoming residents, who stated by a strong majority that they “do not like taxes.” The Realtors then surveyed their own members, who agreed to spend a portion of their dues toward this campaign.

“They then have hired an extra lobbyist to assist their regular lobbyist,” he  said. “They have spent the summer traveling to every town and meeting with each legislator.”

Gingery said he has not supported a real estate transfer tax because there has been no guarantee that local governments would lower other taxes in return. Gingery also said he isn’t sure if more revenue is needed.

“At least these were my concerns a few years ago when the last bill was being debated,” he said. “I have actually never voted on the bill, because for the last six years I have been in the Legislature, it has never gotten out of committee.”

Sen. Grant Larson, R-Jackson, was in other legislative meetings all day Monday and Tuesday and could not be reached for comment. Rep. Jim Roscoe, D-Jackson, could not be reached either.

Rep. Pete Jorgensen, D-Jackson, said Realtors are wasting their money.

“It’s ridiculous,” he said. “The state is probably going to be back to 2003 revenue numbers. So we’re going to have to cut services significantly. To take anything off the table as a potential revenue source is – I can’t categorize it as anything but self-serving in the extreme.”

Economist Jonathan Schechter said a real-estate transfer tax could be structured to hit only the pocket books of those who own second homes.

“It would be a great source of revenue for Teton County and a brilliant thing for the state of Wyoming,” he said. “So for the Wyoming real estate folks to be proposing this is – it’s shortsighted.”