by Linda Schmitt, Corvallis
In case you hadn’t noticed, Gianforte and his legislative lackeys have again done you a disservice. They blew the $2.5 billion surplus and then raised your property taxes. Property owners will pay an extra $81 million this year, and for your continued delight, property taxes will increase on an annual basis. You can thank the Republican legislators for refusing a chance to fix the problem by adjusting the residential property tax rate, to prevent the annual increase.
But no, not these guys. Total residential property values will skyrocket from $137 billion to $197 billion – just a 43 percent increase! Have you received your property assessment for next year? Well, there it is… didn’t think numbers could go that high! Think of it as your annual donation to the Gianforte club.
Want to know how much more you’ll pay? Take your Appraisal Notice and follow these steps.
1) Take your current assessed value and subtract last year’s assessed value.
2) The remainder is the increase in assessed value
3) Multiply the remainder by 1.35%. It’s the residential property tax rate.
4) Take that number and multiply it by .101; the result is the increase in your tax.
Well, you say, the Governor is “giving” us a rebate! Virginia, there is no Santa Claus. Not in Montana. That one-time token gets eaten up by the tax increase, which goes on year after year. Gianforte is hoping you won’t notice he’s playing a shell game. Look over here! Don’t look there!
You have a chance to speak your mind, now that the horse is out of the barn. The Dept. of Revenue is holding public meetings. Better you should contact your legislators and tell them to reduce the tax rate from 1.35 to 1.25%. And then vote them out of office. Elect a Democrat.