Letters to the editor Jan. 16

Tax code tweak

Montana Sen. Greg Hertz, chairman of the Senate Taxation Committee, says “there is no simple solution” to Montana’s property tax fiasco. On this point, he is simply wrong. It is not any more complicated than changing a number in the Montana Code from 1.35% to 0.94%. (Hertz uses 0.76%, not the number used in 2023, namely 0.94%.)

Property taxes are calculated differently than other taxes.  He is right that the final number of mills is set by the county commissioners after they determine the amount of revenue needed. However, it does not take a nuclear scientist (or a skilled accountant) to realize that if someone’s house goes up in value, they will pay more property taxes on that house unless the state Legislature does something about the rate of the tax.