Wyoming News
Wyoming Appreciation Rates Rank No. 2 in the Country!
According to a November 2007 release issued by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight’s (OFHEO) House Price Index (HPI), the state of Wyoming had one of the greatest rates of appreciation between the third quarter of 2006 and the third quarter of 2007 at 11.8%, second only to Utah (12.9%). In addition, the state has kept this high ranking for the fifth consecutive quarter.
Click here for the full version of the release.
Wyoming’s air travel marketing campaign is a resounding success.
CHEYENNE – Wyoming’s commercial air traffic has been soaring this summer, with plane boardings up in nine of the state’s 10 commercial airports and up about 15 percent statewide.
State aeronautics officials credit the increase to a combination of factors, including a bustling statewide economy that has brought increased business travel, better service at most airports, and the state’s $1 million advertising campaign to get more people to “Fly Wyoming.”
The marketing campaign “has gone very, very well,” says Amber E. Schlabs, aviation, business and marketing manager for the Wyoming Department of Transportation’s Aeronautics Division. “We are getting a lot of feedback on the campaign.”
The latest Aeronautics Division plane boarding numbers show increased traffic at nine of Wyoming’s 10 commercial airports through July of this year, ranging from a marginal increase of less than 1 percent at Natrona County International Airport to 27.5 percent at Rock Springs, 29.6 percent at Gillette, 32.7 percent at Sheridan and a whopping 44.5 percent at Worland. Only Cody’s Yellowstone Regional Airport was down slightly.
Schlabs said while the state’s busy economy certainly is a factor, the ad campaign certainly was a factor, too, especially in Worland, normally the state’s least-used commercial airport. She also noted that increased service – more flights, larger planes or new airlines – also contributed to the increases.
Since the ad campaign started, the Fly Wyoming Web site has received more than 500,000 hits, she said.
The goal of the campaign has been to increase awareness of Wyoming’s commercial airports and emphasize the benefits in utilizing them. Not only does flying Wyoming make sense in saving valuable time, sometimes it costs less in dollars than driving and overnight stays, according to Aeronautics Division Administrator Shelly Rheams.
Wyoming Tops List of Tax-Friendly States
Wyoming continues to make front page news thanks to its excellent tax system!
Wyoming tops the list of most “business-friendly” states, according to a report released this week by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation.
The nonprofit foundation’s annual rankings of the 50 state tax systems are designed to provide a roadmap for lawmakers working to keep their states competitive, the foundation said in a statement.
“There’s no question that states are competing with one another for companies, jobs and people,” said report co-author Curtis Dubay. “Taxes matter to businesses and the states with better business tax climates will reap rewards.”
The rankings are based on taxes that most concern businesses, the foundation explained: corporate tax, individual income tax, sales tax, unemployment tax and property tax.
According to the report:
- The five most business-friendly states are Wyomiing, South Dakota, Nevada, Alaska and Florida.
- The next five are Montana, New Hampshire, Texas, Delaware and Oregon.
- The five least tax-friendly states are Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, California and Ohio.
- Coming in just above the bottom five are Iowa, Vermont, Nebraska, Minnesota and Maine.
“States need to constantly be on the lookout for ways to improve their business tax climates,” Dubay said. “If they’re standing still, they’re losing ground . . .”
© 2007 NewsMax. All rights reserved.
