Key Goals Outlined by Governor to Reduce Montana Property Taxes

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - Governor Greg Gianforte hosted his final Property Tax Task Force report on Thursday morning. From his office in Helena, Gianforte first set forth the purpose of the task force.

The Property Tax Task Force Report was Issued on Thursday

“We must arrest the rate of growth of property taxes,” began Gianforte. “We must ease the impact of drastic increases in property tax appraisals. We must increase the transparency of property tax bills and make them easier to understand. We must improve the payment schedule for property tax payments.”

Before any specifics of the plan were introduced, Gianforte emphasized the importance of education and protecting Montana property owners.

“We must ensure that each Montana child has access to a quality education,” he said. “We must ensure Montanans who are struggling to make ends meet are not at risk of losing their home because of higher property taxes, and we must do all this without imposing a statewide sales tax…period.”

Gianforte Emphasized the Homestead Exemption

Gianforte emphasized the importance of creating a homestead exemption for Montana property owners.

“For my part, I firmly believe that we should move ahead with the homestead exemption to give preference to Montana residents on a primary home that'll provide good long term relief,” he said. “It will also ensure that ‘out of staters’ who don't live here; don't pay income taxes here and own second homes here pay their fair share, not only for our schools, but law enforcement, roads and bridges, emergency response, and I'm glad to see the task force included that as one of the recommendations.”

State Senator Greg Hertz said Mills should only Include a Dollar Amount

State Senator Greg Hertz agreed with Gianforte and had one foundational proposal.

“The sole purpose that we focus on, of course, is reducing property taxes for primarily Montana residents,” said Hertz. “We have eight recommendations coming out of the local government committee, but the one that I think really rises up is our recommendation that voted mills should only be under a dollar amount and not a mill amount.”

READ MORE: Missoula County Asks for Three Percent Increase in Property Tax

One of the opening statements in the report highlights who should benefit most from the proposals.

‘By focusing property tax reductions on primary homes and long-term rentals, tax relief is provided to Montana residents. Increasing the tax on second homes, non-resident homes, and short-term rentals helps pay for the decreases in taxable value for other residential properties without that tax being shifted onto businesses or agricultural property.’

Click here to read the entire report from the Property Tax Task Force.