Bill to narrow intangible personal property exemption draws split testimony; sponsors say it will ease homeowner tax burden

Sen. Mary Ann Dunwell, a Helena Democrat, told the Senate Taxation Committee that Senate Bill 169 would curtail an exemption for certain intangible personal property now applied to centrally assessed companies such as utilities, pipelines and telecoms.

"This exemption that this will revise, formerly known as the intangible personal property exemption ... is property that really can't be touched or felt, physically, but it has lots. It's packed with lots of value," Sen. Dunwell said as she opened the hearing, describing the bill as a way to "even out the pieces of the pie" so homeowners and small businesses do not shoulder a disproportionate share of property tax burdens.

Why it matters

Proponents argued the exemption redirects hundreds of millions of dollars in taxable value away from residential property to centrally assessed entities and that repealing or narrowing the exemption would relieve homeowners and Main Street businesses. Evan Barrett, a retired economic development official and homeowner, told the committee the…