Wyoming Secretary of State Proposes LLC Fee Increases

Wyoming’s Secretary has proposed an increase of fees on their LLCs and Corporations. The goal is to plug the budget shortfall.

Wyoming, United States – March 10, 2017 /MarketersMedia/ —

Wyoming faces a second unprecedented year of state budget cutbacks amid a troubling economic backdrop. While U.S.A. business as a whole posted another strong year, Wyoming has faced local and regional difficulties. These difficulties arose due to the State’s dependence on natural resources such as oil, coal and methane bed gas. These extract industry taxes and fees have fallen precipitously over the previous few years. This has left the Wyoming government with a hole to fill and few places to find the needed cash.

This need has driven the state legislature to propose increases to the initial and annual filing fees Wyoming LLCs and Corporations pay, remarks Cloud Peak Law. They have proposed raising the WY LLC annual filing costs from $100 to $200 and to post a sizeable increase in Annual Report filing costs, currently among the lowest in the USA. These fees would directly impact incorporations and the State’s competitiveness with Delaware LLCs and Nevada LLCs. Currently, Wyoming corporations enjoy strong asset protection statutes, reduced bureaucratic hurdles, no corporate taxes and comparatively low-fees.

Both sides of the argument accept the state needs to raise fees. However, some have proposed more subtle changes to the fee structure. There exist more discrete ways the Secretary of State could act. For example, look at what percentage of companies fail to renew for a second or third year. Now, pull that fee forward into the first year. Label it as prepaying for the second and third years. This would succeed in raising state fees, even the average amount raised per year, but would not have to be labeled as an increase on Wyoming LLC fees.

Businesses nationwide give many reasons for choosing Wyoming. Privacy, asset protection, no taxes, minimal fees and reduced bureaucracy are just a few benefits associated with doing business in Wyoming. In the end, fees face a likely increase. The question becomes how should this be accomplished, namely what should the revised fee structure look like.

The Wyoming Secretary of State has been vocal about the proposed cost increases for incorporating in Wyoming. These would be the first fee increases in nearly a decade, they note. Wyoming would continue to remain competitive on the national scene. The larger concern is the legislature continues “returning to the till” and eventually competitiveness is eroded.

Forming an LLC in Wyoming is currently among the more popular options for small and medium sized businesses. This is because Delaware companies endure management friendly, rather than shareholder friendly, courts. They also have significantly higher taxes and fees. This is because this is the popular domicile for Fortune 500 companies. They can shoulder the burden of such costs easily. Not so for small limited liability corporations.

Further, Wyoming has no officer filing fee. Nor does it have a gross receipt sales tax. These are among the benefits which Wyoming LLCs enjoy when small business owners are polled. Wyo has the smallest population in the nation, at a mere 550k people. This makes any outside business a huge boon for the local populace. Essentially, Wyoming exports its corporate laws to other states. This arbitrage has benefit WY and the legislature is well aware of this. Locals will continue monitoring the situation as it unfolds. There appear few certainties in the continuing corporate landscape.

Contact Info:
Name: Andrew Pierce
Email: info@cloudpeaklaw.com
Organization: Cloud Peak Law
Address: 203 S. Main St. STE 3000, Sheridan, WY 82801
Phone: 307-674-1604

Source URL: http://marketersmedia.com/wyoming-secretary-of-state-proposes-llc-fee-increases/176763

For more information, please visit https://cloudpeaklaw.com/

Source: MarketersMedia

Release ID: 176763