Montana Chamber Leader Advocates for Statewide Sales Tax Amid Economic Shifts

• Montana voters have historically opposed a statewide sales tax.
• Todd O’Hair, head of the Montana Chamber of Commerce, suggests reconsidering due to economic changes.
• Montana’s economy has shifted from resource-heavy industries to sectors like tourism and biotechnology.
• This shift has increased the tax burden on residential properties.
• Residential property taxes rose from 35 percent of the tax base in 1996 to 58 percent in 2023.
• The state government attempted to address this with a second-home tax measure.
• The measure aims to reduce taxes on resident-occupied homes by increasing taxes on second homes and high-value properties.

Source: montanafreepress.org

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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