JACKSON -- The Wyoming Association of Realtors is getting ready to promote its plan to amend the state constitution to prohibit the imposition of a real estate transfer tax.

The organization launched a promotional campaign Thursday in Cheyenne to gather support for the idea.

Current regulations allow Wyoming to levy a real estate transfer tax, which some compare to a sales tax on real estate. Previous efforts to levy the tax have failed, including bills that would have allowed counties to decide whether to impose it locally.

Some have suggested the tax could be used to pay for affordable housing since high-priced homes in Jackson Hole usually create the need for laborers such as gardeners, cleaners, caretakers and others in the service industry.

Brett McPeak, a Jackson member of the Wyoming Association of Realtors, said the proposed constitutional amendment is aimed at protecting property owners, especially sellers who would be required to pay the tax.

"Nationwide, government entities are trying to find different revenue streams to balance their budgets," McPeak said. "The one the real estate community, in particular, feels like should not be the first place that government goes is people's equity in their homes."

McPeak said his group worries that if a transfer tax is ever implemented, it would be paid by the seller, thus eating away at profits.

The organization is working on getting a constitutional amendment passed by the Legislature in 2010. If lawmakers approve the measure with a two-thirds majority, it would be sent to voters for approval during the November 2010 general election.

Rep. Keith Gingery, R-Jackson, said he has not been a supporter of the real estate transfer tax but that doesn't mean he supports making the tax unconstitutional.

"I disagree with placing prohibitions in the constitution that limit the Legislature in utilizing tools that they may need to use in the future," he said. "So my position is a little bit nuanced. I do not support the real estate transfer tax, but I do not agree with what the Wyoming Realtors tried in 2008 and what they are proposing to try again in 2010."