Democrats in the Montana Legislature said a tax shift in the state has put too much pressure on residential property taxpayers, and they want to introduce a plan to address that.
State lawmakers and a state task force have been digging into Montana’s property tax system for months, and now, they’re moving closer to making some recommendations on possible changes.
Under the threat of a multimillion-dollar ballot measure campaign backed by Colorado businesses and anonymous conservative donors, state leaders on Monday announced they had agreed to pass the second cut in as many years to the nation’s third-lowest property tax rates.
Sheila Hogan writes, "While the rest of us throughout the state of Montana are paying record-high property taxes, Gianforte is paying less than his neighbors on his privately owned mansions in both Bozeman and Helena."
Utah homeowners are carrying a disproportionate share of the state’s property tax burden because assessors find it more difficult to correctly determine the value of commercial property, resulting in a “tax shift” from one sector to another.
County treasurers are left with the thankless task of sending supplemental property tax bills to hundreds of thousands of property owners across Montana.
Counties chase growth, but that isn’t a solution either because growth doesn’t pay for itself; rather, new houses require new fire trucks and police and roads.
Missoula County writes, "Montana’s tax system is sorely outdated, and, to paraphrase former DOR Director Dan Bucks, is now rigged in favor of larger corporations and utilities, at the expense of homeowners and renters across the state."
Dick Barrett writes, "Even if reappraisal had been neutralized by the Republican legislature, we would still be left with the regressive property tax system we have in place today, with hardly any relationship between tax bills and ability to pay."