Governor Gordon Offering Tax Relief to Wyoming Businesses

Governor Gordon has announced that he's signed an Executive Order that will offer tax relief to eligible Wyoming businesses.

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According to a press release from the Governor's office, the tax relief will come in the form of a tax credit. It will also offset some potential increases to unemployment insurance taxes in the future.

Per the press release, Executive Order 2021-08 removes all UI benefit claims between March 13 and December 31, 2020 from the business whose accounts were charged for those claims. The Executive Order was authorized by the Legislature in 2020 and it ensures that these employers won't continue to experience significant unemployment insurance tax rate increases "due to the system-wide surge in unemployment claims that occured doe to COVID-19 pandemic."

The order will also provide credits to employers who experienced increased taxes already paid in 2021.

“We recognize that every employer in the state was impacted in some way by the pandemic, and many saw their unemployment insurance rates increase – some substantially –  this year,” Governor Gordon said. “This Executive Order protects Wyoming businesses that have continually risen to the challenges in this new environment.”

Governor Gordon stated that, in order to ensure that this tax relief won't impact future tax rates, he is going to utilize $58 million in federal funds to backfill Wyoming's Unemployed Insurance Trust Fund. Previously, Gordon added $64 million to the fund which, the governor's office stated, "has already helped keep rates from going up even further."

“It is important that we ensure that this significant tax relief does not necessitate an increase in UI tax rates at a later date,” the Governor said.

The governor's office does note that Wyoming employers will see a decrease in their unemployment tax rates after October 31 and will receive notifications from the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services of the value of credits that can be applied to future unemployment taxes.

To see a copy of the Executive Order, follow this link.