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Committee sends lodging‑tax property tax relief bill forward with support from taxpayers group
Summary
Senate Bill 90 would redirect certain tourism-related taxes to a residential property tax credit estimated at about $200 per eligible property; proponents including the Montana Taxpayers Association urged expansion options and revenue experts explained administrative FTE needs for application processing.
Senate Bill 90, sponsored by Senator Carl Glimm, would shift certain vehicle-rental and lodging tax revenue from the general fund to a residential property-tax relief program, yielding roughly $56 million in the first full year and an estimated $200-plus credit for eligible properties. Sponsor said an amendment limits relief to properties with a taxable structure value under $1 million.
Bob Story of the Montana Taxpayers Association supported the bill and offered ideas for additional revenue sources (lottery profits, insurance premium tax) to expand the credit. Department of Revenue economist Jared Isom and property-assessment bureau chief Bryce Kotz answered questions about the fiscal note and operational assumptions, including an initial staffing surge to process roughly 230,000 initial applications (13 FTE in year one, dropping to 2 ongoing positions).
Committee members asked whether the heavy initial FTE assumption reflected application volume and processing burdens; agency staff explained that a large first-year application effort explains the higher initial FTE count and diminishing ongoing workload.
Outcome: Committee voted to pass SB90 in executive action and it advanced out of Finance and Claims.
