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Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate Taxation Committee moves major property tax bills to Senate floor
The door to the Senate Chamber at the Montana Capitol. (Micah Drew/Daily Montanan) The Senate Taxation Committee made headway on the property tax debate by moving several bills originating in the House through the committee on Wednesday morning, despite reservations by several legislators. Gov. Greg Gianforte's favored bill, House Bill 231, brought by Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, moved on, as did House Bill 155, which has become a flagship bill from Democrats in both chambers. Some Republicans also feel rebates are the way to provide tax relief, while the HB 231 camp and the Democrats try and adjust tax rates. House Bill 528, which was a late, under-the-radar and bipartisan bill from Rep. Ed Bryne, R-Bigfork, was tabled in the committee. A motion to reconsider House Bill 154, a renter tax credit Democrats had previously hinted wasn't dead, also failed to move to the floor. Senate Bill 90, a bill favored by Senate President Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, and conservative members of his caucus, continues to hang around as a property tax option in the House. SB 90 is a tax rebate that Democrats say does not provide enough relief. SB 90 has been added to HB 924, which includes a property tax credit. That legislation that would create a $1 billion trust that serves multiple interests, including childcare, infrastructure and disaster resilience. 'Senate Bill 90 is alive and well,' Sen. Greg Hertz, chair of Senate Taxation said during the meeting. His words were foreshadowing — Rep. Katie Zolnikov, R-Billings made a reconsideration motion on SB 90 during the House's floor session. Around a dozen House members rose to speak during discussion on the blast motion, which ultimately failed by one vote. The committee made several amendments on both HB 155 and HB 231. For HB 155, brought by Rep. Mark Thane, D-Missoula, the amendment included language to roll back property tax rates to 2024 and provide a homestead exemption on the first $50,000 of a home, bringing some Democrats into opposition because of those changes. '155 now is different. It's changed,' Sen. Mary Ann Dunwell, D-Helena said during the meeting. 'I went from a yes to a no. It's changed that much.' Amendments to HB 231 included pushing the effective date back, as the bill was originally looking to be passed in March, and adding language to help fix a major hurdle for much of the property tax legislation — issues with charters in several cities that could see an increase local property taxes with the bill as introduced. Language in HB 231 was amended to give local governments the option to switch from a mill-based levy to a dollar-based levy should they so choose. There was also some debate over whether reimbursing cities with charters that conflict with state money could be a realistic option. Hertz said he thinks telling cities to ignore their charters is unconstitutional and had little doubt it would be challenged in court. HB 155 and HB 231 will now head to the Senate floor for the full Senate to consider. Property taxes remain a major hurdle for the Legislature as the end of the session nears and Montanans face another jump in property values. 'I committed to Representative Jones to get this bill out of here,' Hertz said of HB 231. 'I don't like it. It's more or less a Frankenstein bill now, but I hope we can get this bill out of here so we can have the discussion on the floor.'
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senator said he hopes property tax credit in ‘popular' bill will increase
Photo illustration by Getty Images. A property tax bill that faced an onslaught of fierce opposition at its first hearing saw nothing but support Thursday in the House Taxation committee — after passing unanimously out of the Senate. 'It's getting kind of popular,' said Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila, bill sponsor. Property taxes are a significant priority for this Montana Legislature because residential values have increased in the state, and property tax bills have followed suit. Senate Bill 90 would allow property taxpayers to apply for a credit on their bill, currently estimated at $240 a year. The money would come from lodging and car rental tax revenue, which goes into the general fund. Thursday, however, Glimm said the goal is to bump up the credit to $500 or so, possibly with other legislation. In support of the bill, Bob Story, with the Montana Taxpayers Association, said more increases are projected in the coming reappraisal cycle, an estimated 20% on average for residential properties across the state, and called SB 90 'a great tool.' Representatives from the Montana Chamber of Commerce, cities of Bozeman and Missoula, and the Montana Economic Developers Association were among those who spoke in support of the bill Thursday. Proponents said they appreciated the simplicity of the bill and its acknowledgement of the costs of tourism on local infrastructure. Dan Brooks, with the Billings Chamber of Commerce, said his organization had done an 'about face' on the bill, and several former opponents thanked Glimm for listening to their concerns. The bill drew opposition early on because it stripped money from Department of Commerce programs, including ones focused on tourism, culture, agriculture and history. Now, the credit comes from the general fund. Members of the committee asked questions to ensure the process for property taxpayers wouldn't be too cumbersome, such as if multiple bills pass that require homeowners fill out an application to receive the credit. A spokesperson for the Department of Revenue said if similar bills pass, he anticipated the application forms could be consolidated. He also said property taxpayers don't have to apply for SB 90 every year; the bill spells out the criteria that would require renewal, such as if a property is no longer used as a primary residence. The committee didn't take immediate action on the bill Thursday. However, Glimm said he has received feedback that counties that have high value growth, such as Gallatin, Flathead and Missoula counties, also want more of their residents to qualify. In response, he said he plans to present an amendment to increase the limit on properties that receive the credit to those worth up to $2 million. That way, he said, as values increase, the limit doesn't need to be adjusted right away. Generally, Glimm said, the bill is addressing a problem Montanans have talked about for probably decades. 'It's a hot topic,' Glimm said.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Montana Senate unanimously passes property tax bill to credit residential payers
Photo illustration by Getty Images. In an outcome that surprised even the sponsor, senators voted unanimously Wednesday to support a bill that takes $56 million paid by tourists and returns it to property taxpayers. Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila, sponsored Senate Bill 90 and said he believes the unanimous support indicates the strong appetite this session for property tax relief, although he said he wasn't expecting to get approval from all 50 senators. 'This is what people sent us here to do, was to fix property taxes,' Glimm said. The bill was harshly criticized in its original form in committee because it took money from programs that support specific culture and tourism activities, but the committee amended it so the dollars come out of the general fund instead. The committee also reduced the amount of money going to residential property taxpayers. A fiscal note said the $56 million would come from the 75% of the lodging and rental taxes that goes into the general fund. 'With my bill, tourists would be helping pay for things like road infrastructure by taking some of that burden off property taxpayers. And the traveling Montana soccer mom paying the lodging tax at a hotel would get her money back, and much more, via property tax relief,' Glimm said in a statement. The bill will go to the Finance and Claims committee, where it will be considered alongside other proposals, but Glimm agreed the unanimous vote from the Senate, which has 32 Republicans and 18 Democrats, should lend it weight there. Before the Senate approved it, President Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, successfully proposed an amendment to have the bill apply only to homes worth less than $1 million. It passed with 45 votes and just five Democrats against it. 'Senate Republicans are focused on providing property tax relief to people across the state,' Regier said in a statement. 'I look forward to advancing SB 90 and other bills that create a fairer and more effective tax system in Montana.' Sen. Mary Ann Dunwell, D-Helena, supported the bill, but she opposed the amendment because of escalating home values. 'You don't have to look far to find a home in certain housing markets that's over $1 million,' Dunwell said. Glimm said the amendment meant the amount of average money to be credited to property taxpayers would increase some from an estimated $236 prior to the change. A precise amount was not immediately available. Property tax reduction is a bipartisan priority for the Montana Legislature this session, although different legislators have different ideas about the best way to make it happen. Several proposals advanced this week in both chambers. Glimm said the amount to be credited in SB 90 used to be even more, an estimated $400 before the bill was amended. In support of the bill, he said the session started with a surplus of some $2.3 billion. 'Just let that sink in because that's a lot of money,' Glimm said. Sen. Dave Fern, D-Whitefish, described a couple of proposals heard Wednesday as 'audacious,' including SB 90. He said he knows that Montanans like collecting money from visitors because he represents a couple of tourist communities. 'What I like about this bill is it's predictable. It doesn't really need modeling,' Fern said. Some bills can affect counties differently based on the industries and residential payers that make up their tax bases, and number crunchers 'model' those impacts so legislators can see if the effects are disproportionate. Dunwell said the fiscal note is 'a little steep,' but she said the residential taxpayers paid $80 million more than they should have each year of the most recent biennium because of inequities among classes of taxpayers, and the state kept it. 'Those taxpayers shouldn't have had to pay that. This helps give some of it back,' Dunwell said. With some bills, Glimm said people talk about winners and losers, but this one is different. 'Everybody is a winner here.'
