Property tax crisis is hurting your job, paycheck and community

If you work for a small business in Montana, this matters to you. If you shop at local stores, this matters to you. If you care about your community’s charities and economic future, this matters to you.

Small business isn’t just important to Montana — it is Montana. Ninety-nine percent of Montana businesses are small businesses, employing 67% of our workforce. That’s your employer, your neighbor, your friend. And right now, Montana’s broken property tax system is putting these businesses — and the jobs they provide — at serious risk. 

The reality behind the numbers

As a Montana small business owner since 1989, I’ve weathered many storms. Rising costs for labor, health care, insurance and equipment are challenging, but they come with growth. Property taxes are different. They generate zero additional revenue for a business, yet they keep climbing relentlessly. 

The property tax on my commercial building jumped from $15,360 in 2020 to $28,114 in 2025, an 83% increase. Let that sink in. During the same period, overall inflation was 26%, health care costs rose 12%, and higher education increased just 3%. Property taxes are rising at three times the rate of general inflation. 

What this means for you

When property taxes spike, businesses face impossible choices. They can: 

• Raise prices, adding to inflation and making everything more expensive for you. 

• Cut hiring, meaning fewer job opportunities. 

• Reduce employee benefits, affecting your health care, retirement, or wages. 

• Slash charitable donations, hurting local nonprofits and community programs. 

• Close their doors, eliminating jobs entirely. 

None of these is good for workers, families or communities. Every dollar taken by excessive property taxes is a dollar that can’t go toward wages, local spending or community support. 

The investment problem

Commercial property investors — the people who build and maintain the spaces where small businesses operate — are getting crushed too. When property taxes skyrocket, landlords often have to absorb the costs because small business tenants can’t afford rent increases. This reduces returns on investment and makes Montana commercial property less attractive to investors. 

The result? Less new construction, fewer business spaces and ultimately fewer opportunities for entrepreneurs to start or expand businesses. This is anti-growth policy at its worst. 

Don’t be fooled by short-term relief

Some Montana homeowners received property tax relief in 2025. That’s great, temporarily. But make no mistake: the system is still broken and taxes will continue to rise. House Bill 231 and Senate Bill 542 are band-aids, not cures. The bills are lazy, last-minute, get-anything-done bad policy.  They don’t address the underlying problem that keeps driving property values and, therefore, property taxes to unsustainable levels. 

These bills kick the can down the road. Your taxes will rise. Small businesses will continue to struggle. Jobs will remain at risk. We deserve better than political window dressing. 

A system that needs real reform

The current formula, market value times graduated percentages to get taxable value, times mill levies, creates a vicious cycle. As property values climb with Montana’s growth, taxes spiral upward automatically. The system rewards government spending and punishes property owners and businesses. 

I’m disappointed that our governor, who built a successful business himself, settled for a “80% of Montanans received a tax break” headline instead of demanding comprehensive reform. We need leadership that understands the real-world impact of these policies on working people and small businesses. 

What you can do

Pay attention to how your legislators vote on property tax issues. Several Flathead County legislators recognized these bills as inadequate and voted against them: Terry Falk, Amy Regier, Carl Glimm, Ed Byrne, Mark Noland, Steven Kelly, Matt Regier, Braxton Mitchell, Tracy Sharp, and John Fuller. They deserve credit for standing firm. 

Others voted in favor: Courtenay Sprunger, Debo Powers, Lyn Bennett, Dave Fern and Lukas Schubert. Ask them why they supported legislation that hurts small businesses, reduces jobs, and forces local businesses to cut community support. 

This isn’t about politics; it’s about the economic survival of Montana’s small business community and the jobs they provide. When small businesses struggle, workers suffer, prices rise, and communities lose vital support. 

The bottom line

Montana’s property tax system is broken, and temporary relief doesn’t fix structural problems. Every excessive property tax dollar comes out of someone’s pocket, whether through higher prices you pay, reduced wages or benefits you receive, fewer jobs available, or charitable donations that disappear. 

We need legislators and leaders willing to tackle genuine property tax reform, not just apply band-aids that make for good headlines. Small businesses are the backbone of Montana’s economy. When they thrive, everyone benefits. When we struggle under crushing tax burdens, everyone loses. 

It’s time for Montana to get serious about fixing this broken system before more businesses close, more jobs disappear, and more communities lose the support they depend on. 

John Flink is a business owner in Kalispell.