39-13-113. Monthly payment of ad valorem tax on gross product of mineral production.
(a) Commencing with mineral and mine production on January 1, 2020, this section shall govern the payment of all ad valorem taxes on the value of the gross product of minerals and mine products, hereafter referred to as the "ad valorem tax on mineral production". Any provisions of this title related to the ad valorem tax on mineral production that do not conform to the processes and procedures set forth in this section are superseded by this section to the extent the procedures conflict with this section.
(b) Except as provided in this section, all mineral and mine producers in the state shall report and pay the ad valorem tax on mineral production for each county on a monthly basis. Payments shall be due and payable to the department on or before the twenty-fifth day of the second month following the month of production. Payments under this subsection shall not be less than the amount calculated by the taxpayer by applying the mill levy rate established by the county in the immediately preceding year to the value of the gross product of minerals and mine products produced each month. Annually, on or before September 20, the county treasurer shall send a written statement to each taxpayer by mail at his last known address or, if offered by the county and upon request of the taxpayer, by electronic transmission, of any tax due or overpayment received after applying the amount the county has received from that taxpayer through monthly payments under this section by reconciling those payments with the applicable mill levy rate for that production year, itemized as to property description, assessed value and applicable mill levies. Failure to send notice, or to demand payment of taxes, does not invalidate any taxes due. The taxpayer shall reconcile the amount indicated on the notice as follows:
(i) If the statement provided by the county indicates additional taxes are due, the taxpayer shall pay the additional amount due not later than December 20 of that year;
(ii) If the statement by the county indicates that the monthly payments resulted in an overpayment of the taxes, the county treasurer shall refund taxes that were overpaid under this section by December 20 of that year. The taxpayer may elect to have the county treasurer retain any overpayment amount and apply that amount towards other ad valorem taxes due.
(c) Collection and distribution. Monthly and annual payments of the ad valorem tax on mineral production shall be collected by the department on behalf of each county. The department shall properly account for the payments received and distribute the payments monthly to the county treasurer. Upon distribution of funds to counties under this subsection the amount shall be proportionally distributed by the county treasurer to each taxing entity within the county as provided in W.S. 39-13-111.
(d) If a taxpayer's liability for severance tax as imposed under chapter 14 of this title is less than thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.00) for the preceding calendar year, the monthly payment requirements for the ad valorem tax on mineral production under this chapter are waived and the taxpayer shall report and pay the ad valorem tax on mineral production annually as provided in this subsection. The annual report and payment shall be due and payable on February 25 of the year following the year of production. Annual payments shall be calculated by the taxpayer by applying the mill levy rate established by the county commissioners in the production year, along with any adjustments made in accordance with law and reported by the county to the department by January 15 of the year following the production year, to the value of the gross product of minerals and mine products produced in the applicable year. Annual payments made under this subsection shall be paid to the department and deposited with the applicable county treasurer as provided in subsection (c) of this section and reconciled as provided in subsection (b) of this section.
(e) Failure to make payments at the time they are due and payable under this section shall subject the taxpayer to the enforcement provisions of W.S. 39-13-108 and shall also be subject to enforcement as follows:
(i) If the report and payment of tax required under this section is not provided, the department shall value the property from the best information available to determine the fair market value of the property;
(ii) If a taxpayer producing valuable deposits fails to pay the taxes when due, the department shall file a notice of lien on behalf of the applicable county pursuant to W.S. 39-13-108(d)(vi);
(iii) Taxes due together with interest, penalties and costs shall be collectible by the department or county by appropriate judicial proceedings.
(f) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section or any other provision of law, upon receiving an application from a taxpayer a county may enter into an agreement with the taxpayer to accept payments for the ad valorem tax on mineral production under the processes and procedures in place prior to the effective date of this section, subject to the following:
(i) Prior to entering into any agreement under this subsection, the county shall:
(A) Establish uniform eligibility criteria and an application process;
(B) Conduct at least one (1) public meeting related to the proposed agreement. The county shall notify all taxing authorities that receive any taxes that may be impacted by the agreement of the meeting at least fourteen (14) days prior to the meeting.
(ii) Upon entering into any agreement under this subsection, the county shall notify the department;
(iii) Upon receipt of notice from a county under this subsection, the department shall exempt the taxpayer from the provisions of this section and the taxpayer shall be subject to all processes, procedures and requirements in place prior to the effective date of this section;
(iv) No taxpayer shall be eligible for an agreement under this subsection for mineral production from any property acquired on or after the effective date of this section.
(g) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section and except as otherwise provided in subsections (d) and (f) of this section, estimated monthly ad valorem tax payments shall first be due under this section beginning with production on January 1, 2022. The ad valorem tax on mineral production from calendar years 2020 and 2021 shall be paid as provided in this subsection. Fifty percent (50%) of taxes due for production from calendar year 2020 shall be due on and after September 1, 2021 and payable to the counties on and after November 10, 2021. Unless the entire tax due for production from calendar year 2020 is paid by December 31, 2021, the remaining fifty percent (50%) of the taxes due for production from calendar year 2020 and all taxes due from production in calendar year 2021 shall be paid as provided in this subsection. The total amount of 2020 and 2021 remaining taxes due under this subsection shall be calculated by the department and the applicable counties. The taxpayer shall make an additional payment on December 1 of each year beginning in 2023 equal to eight percent (8%) of the total amount calculated under this subsection until the total amount has been paid. Timely payments made in accordance with this subsection shall not be subject to penalties or interest. If a taxpayer fails to make timely payments under this subsection, all applicable penalties and interest shall be calculated from the date the tax would have been paid if monthly payments began January 1, 2020.