Billings Council To Consider Local Option Tax In November
The Billings City Council is scheduled to make a decision in November whether it will support seeking legislative approval for a 3-percent local option tax. The group Authorize Community Transformation– or ACT Montana– wants Montana communities to have the authority to ask voters for the tax, which in Yellowstone County would raise about $47 million annually. Projects would be identified, and the tax would sunset after 10 years.
The ACT Montana group is still seeking bill sponsors. The local option tax would also allow some of the 11.7 million people who visit the state annually — spending $3.66 billion when they do — to share in the tax burden. Brian Brown of First Interstate Bank, who is co-chairing ACT Montana, noted that by 2025, the largest segment of the local workforce will be Millennials — people who consider a good life/work balance almost as important as pay and benefits.