EVANSTON — Uinta County owes Merit Energy Company just over $3 million in tax rebates due to a notice of valuation change received from the Wyoming Department of Revenue on state-assessed oil and gas production at the company for the 2013-15 tax years. The Uinta County Commissioners were apprised of the situation by Uinta County Assessor Lori Perkins during the Dec. 4 commission meeting. 

Perkins said she was notified by the Wyoming Department of Revenue that an audit had been conducted by the Wyoming Department of Audit, which found discrepancies between the values Merit was reporting and the actual oil and gas production values. These discrepancies resulted in a value cancellation of nearly $49 million and $3.05 million in tax dollars. 

Perkins received the notice on Nov. 27, and said the county has one year from the date of notice to begin paying the tax rebate back to Merit. According to state statute, it is up to the discretion of the county commissioners to decide to pay the entire amount at once or to pay it back over five years interest free. 

Perkins requested the commissioners choose to pay over five years because “paying it all back at once would hurt the county tremendously.” The commissioners were presented with a list of entities that receive county tax dollars and will be impacted by this tax valuation change. Perkins said all of them were notified the change was coming and will be notified again now that the exact dollar amounts are known.

Agencies impacted by the tax rebate include the county general fund; school districts; the Uinta County Library; BOCES; and the county conservation, weed and pest, and fire districts; among others. Commissioners voted to pay the $3 million rebate over five years, with the first payment occurring in November 2019, one year from the date of notice. 

The agencies impacted will now have reduced tax distributions starting next November and will continue for five years.