property taxes

Senators voted unanimously Wednesday to support a bill that takes $56 million paid by tourists and returns it to property taxpayers.

Together, the two chambers endorsed five bills – though in some cases, lawmakers made clear there was still more work to do.

If approved by voters, the tax of up to 4% on things like restaurant meals and cabin rentals would go to offset property tax bills for primary residents and help renters.

Proposed measures offer two contrasting methods to address property taxes in Montana.

CEO Brian Bird writes, "Some statements being made this campaign season about NorthWestern Energy and Montana property taxes are flat out wrong and misleading."

Former Gov. Brian Schweitzer writes, "The Montana Republican Party is now the party of higher taxes and more government spending."

Gov. Jared Polis signed a bipartisan package of property tax cuts into law on Wednesday, after supporters of a pair of ballot initiatives that proposed deeper cuts withdrew them earlier in the day.

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.