Opinion: The death of the Montana dream

Lake County families are already stretched thin. Gas costs more. Groceries cost more. Everything costs more: rent, insurance, utilities. This fall, thousands of our neighbors will open property tax bills making our affordability crisis worse.

Last session, Montanans advocated for property tax relief. But when that failed, lawmakers rushed through a last-minute shift: raise taxes on second homes, farms and businesses to pay for a break on primary homes. They told us it would make wealthy out-of-staters pay.

Here in Lake County, it has hit us instead. The state predicted 895 local residential taxpayers would see increases. The real number is 3,907, with a median increase of 33%. Some families are seeing their bills double.

This law is killing the Montana dream of owning a family cabin, a farm or a small business.

Most second homes here aren't mansions. They're the cabin Grandpa built, the hunting camp, the second lot where the horses graze.

Statewide, about 70% of second homes are owned by Montanans. Already, families are being forced to sell to the wealthy out-of-staters this law was supposed to target.

When taxes go up on farms and local businesses, you pay for it in the increased cost of groceries, goods and services. For many families, any property tax cut will be eaten up by a higher cost of living.

Here's where I stand: keep the property tax cut for those who received it and reverse the tax increases.

When elected, I will fight to lower taxes for everyone and make Montana affordable again through smart tax policy, disciplined spending and rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. I would be honored to have your vote on Nov. 3.