Amoco v. Bd. of Com'Rs of Carbon County

The issue in this case is whether a company that produces oil and gas is entitled to a refund of taxes when the assessed valuation has been reduced by the Wyoming State Board of Equalization (Board). The Board of County Commissioners, in both Carbon and Sweetwater Counties, denied any refund for taxes that had been overpaid in light of the reduced assessment even though the counties accepted the benefit of additional taxes determined to be due because of the increase in assessed valuations arising out of the same audit process. Review was pursued in the District Court of the Second Judicial District where the taxes were determined not to be ""erroneous or illegal"" taxes within the meaning of WYO. STAT. § 39-4-101(b) (Supp. 1992). The court then affirmed the denial of the refund by the respective counties. We hold the reach of this statute is not limited simply to illegal taxes, i.e., those which the taxing authorities had no justification for imposing, and when the assessing authority determines that the correct value of the taxable property was lower than the value on which the taxes were originally paid, the taxpayer is entitled to refund of the erroneous taxes. The decision of the district court is reversed, and the case is remanded for entry of an order requiring both Sweetwater and Carbon Counties to refund the taxes paid in error. Amoco Production Company (Amoco) sets forth the issues in its Brief of Appellant as follows: