Senate rejects governor's resort tax increase proposal

HELENA (AP) — The Senate has rejected Gov. Steve Bullock’s attempt to allow Montana’s designated resort communities to raise the 3 percent sales tax they now collect.

The proposal would allow those communities to impose an additional 1 percent local option tax to expand worker housing or improve infrastructure.

It also would allow new “natural resource impact areas” to charge a 4 percent lodging tax for infrastructure. They include communities with less than 20,000 people affected by energy or timber production.

A resort tax bill failed in the Senate earlier this legislative session. But Bullock attempted to revive it Thursday by attaching it to a separate bill as an amendatory veto and sending it back to the Legislature for approval.

The measure failed on a 24-24 vote Thursday in the Senate.