HB1575 introduced and amended in committee to change residential, commercial and ag valuation calculations

Representative Craig Hedlund, speaking for the committee, said House Bill 1575 was amended to alter the formula used to compute property tax relief across property classes. Hedlund said the committee could not find a constitutionally certain way to narrow the relief to in-state owners and instead adjusted the formula percentages for all classes of property.

Under the committee amendment, Hedlund said, residential calculation moves from 9% to 6.25% (a 2.75 percentage-point reduction) and commercial and agricultural percentages move from 10% to 8.5% (about a 15% reduction in those calculations). Hedlund told committee members the fiscal note produced since the amendment showed a larger cost than originally estimated; he cited an updated fiscal estimate listing a cost of roughly $703,000,000 (committee testimony referenced the fiscal note number and an approximate cost).

Members discussed the effect of formula changes on taxpayers, fiscal exposure, and the practical difficulty of distinguishing in-state versus out-of-state ownership for commercial property. Hedlund and others said the tax department and county records cannot reliably identify whether a property owner is domiciled in the state without further data collection from counties.

Ending: The committee accepted the introduction and amendments and signaled that members will review the fiscal note and the statutory language before further action.