[JumpCrisscross]

> the group who buys the oil rights sells the oil, and they send a part of the profit back to the state

Source? (Not challenging you.)

> If someone "buys the oil rights" and doesn't sell any oil, they're cheating the state

I’d argue a better solution than thinning the buyer pool is setting a high minimum rebate, possibly one that only kicks in if the plot isn’t exploited.

Would also note that Wyoming’s revenue is from sales tax, mining tax and ticketing tourists. (Property tax is mostly minerals [1].)

[1] https://wyotax.org/research-education/wyoming-tax-faq/

[Jiro]

Google brings up a site showing that Wyoming does make money from taxing the oil: https://pawyo.org/facts-figures-2023/