Tax Impact On The 95 Mills Ruling

The Montana Supreme Court ruled on November 22nd, 7-0 against the counties regarding the 95 mills controversy.  Here are the links to articles that were run in the Independent Record and the Montana Free Press.  We are unsure how the counties will address this in billing to the residents of the state.  It is assumed that the counties that have not fully levied the 95 mills will need to determine if they are going to send out an additional tax bill, an amended the fall tax bill or wait until the spring tax bill to address the change.

On November 28th the Montana Association of Counties sent a letter to the Governor urging him to allow counties to collect the 77.9 mills that 49 of the 56 counties have chosen to levy, arguing that the increase in mill valuation would allow for lesser mills needed for state school equalization funding. To read the full article regarding the letter from the Montana Association of Counties, please click on the link Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

As of yet, we don't know how Flathead County will handle the tax bills. Once the Governor issues a response to the Montana Association of County, it is expected that each of the 49 counties will get the information out to their tax payers on what to expect on their next tax bill. It is expected that Governor Gianforte will not overrule the Supreme Court decision as he has been a proponent of following the current law. 

Furthermore, according to an article in November 28th in the Independent Record: "State officials this week will poll lawmakers on the question of whether to hold a special session to address property taxes, a proposal that's failed twice already this year. The Montana Freedom Caucus, a group of about 20 hardline Republican lawmakers, submitted the request to the Secretary of State's Office last week. To trigger a poll of legislators, state law requires 10 members to sign the request. The Freedom Caucus' submission to the Secretary of State's Office had 19. A spokesperson for the Secretary of State's Office confirmed receipt of the request and said the office was preparing to send out the poll by Friday. The request proposes four separate pieces of legislation regarding property taxes and additional tax rebates. Perhaps the most significant proposal would set up a default system in which any surplus of state tax revenues are automatically returned to taxpayers without specific legislative intervention.The request also appears to re-litigate the school equalization funding dispute that concluded in the Montana Supreme Court last week."

Updates are yet to come, in the meantime the Montana Association of School Boards Association has provided the following table regarding the implications that property owners may see on their taxes.