Do you own a home and are wondering what it’s worth? You can easily look up your address on Zillow and see that the assessed value is rising quickly, resulting in higher property taxes.
Too many families in Montana cannot afford the $249 million annual property tax increase pushed through by Republican Governor Gianforte and his party in the legislature.
And yet, after months of analysis, the Governor’s Property Tax Task Force recommended a complicated process that will raise our taxes again!
Why didn’t they take into account the new taxes they had already taken out of our pockets and give us our money back?
Now they want to charge us even more in taxes for the next two years. More bad news. Zillow reports the current value of your home, unlike the government’s home appraisal system, which is always two years behind.
When will this end? If Governor Gianforte does not take the simple solution of cutting property taxes, as other governors have done, Montanans will continue to pay more and lose their homes while the wealthy profit.
Don’t be fooled by Governor Gianforte’s rebate and the numerous marketing materials reminding you to claim a small portion of your property tax refund. The truth is that the value of your home is rapidly increasing.
What can you do?
Vote for the candidates who will actually lower your taxes, or buckle up because under the current leadership you will be paying a lot more in property taxes in the future.
Jan Lombardi, Seeley Lake
