Categories
Home Based Business

Homestead property tax relief bill gets first hearing in Montana House [Video]

HELENA — Lawmakers heard first testimony Wednesday on a flagship property tax bill that would essentially shift property taxes away from primary residences, long-term rentals and small businesses.

Rep. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, is carrying House Bill 231, which is the so-called “homestead” bill championed by Gov. Greg Gianforte’s office. Jones said about 230,000 homeowners would see a 17% reduction in taxes on their primary residences under the bill.

The burden would then fall on properties like vacation homes and short-term rentals, which would see a 53 percent increase — a hike Jones justified with what he called the “significant likelihood” that their often out-of-state owners do not contribute to Montana income tax, and therefore limit the support of state services.

“Well, who cares? Right? They don’t pay Montana income tax. If you look at what property tax is forecasted to bring in, it’s $2.34 billion. If you look what income tax is forecasted to bring in, it’s $2.55 …

Watch/Read More
Categories
Home Based Business

New Mexico woman's childhood home burns down in Hobbs [Video]

OUR FREE APP. A NEW MEXICAN WOMAN LOSES HER CHILDHOOD HOME AFTER IT BURNED DOWN IN HOBBS. SHE TELLS ALYSSA MUNOZ. THIS HAPPENED WHILE HELPING OTHERS IN HER COMMUNITY GO THROUGH THE SAME THING. BUT IN CALIFORNIA. SASHA JASMINE BAEZA SAYS WHILE THE CALIFORNIA FIRES DIDNT REACH HER DOORSTEP, SHE STEPPED UP TO HELP OTHERS IN HER COMMUNITY WHO HAVE BEEN AFFECTED. NOW, WHAT SHE DIDNT REALIZE IS THAT SHED ALSO BE HELPING HER FAMILY DO THE SAME THING MILES AWAY. EVERYBODY WAS WORRIED ABOUT ME IN LOS ANGELES, AND IT TURNED OUT THAT WE LOST A HOME BACK HOME IN NEW MEXICO. LOS ANGELES IS JASMINE BAEZS HOME AWAY FROM HOME FOR THE LAST 12 YEARS. SHE, LIKE MANY, WATCHED AS FIRES BURNED DOWN COMMUNITIES NEAR HER. IT WAS REALLY SCARY TO SEE THE FACT THAT THESE FIRES WERE RAVAGING THROUGH HOMES AND LAND, ACRES AT A TIME. IT TOOK, I THINK, OVER 5 TO 6 DAYS BEFORE THEY STARTED TO GET ANY CONTAINMENT ON THESE FIRES. A FEW DAYS LATER, BAEZA GOT A CALL. HER FAMILY WAS SEEING SIMILAR FLAMES MILES AWAY. I WAS JUST IMMEDIATELY SHOCKED. UPSET, CRYING. BUT MY GRANDMA WAS SAFE. MY GRANDPA WAS SAFE. A HOME BUILT 30 YEARS AGO BY HER GRANDPA AFTER IMMIGRATING HERE. GONE. WERE ALL REALLY UPSET THAT THE. ALL THE MEMORIES THAT WE BUILT WITHIN THAT HOME ARE GONE. SHE HAD THAT HOUSE SO MANY DIFFERENT COLORS LIKE GREEN, YELLOW, ORANGE, PINK. IT WAS JUST OUR LITTLE MEXICAN OASIS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF TOWN. NOW SHES SEEING WHATS LEFT OF HER CHILDHOOD HOME THROUGH FACETIME. OFFICIALS SAY THE FIRE WAS CAUSED BY A HEATER THAT WAS PLUGGED IN OVERNIGHT. AT THE END OF THE DAY, EVERYBODYS GRATEFUL, FEELING A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT THINGS. AND LIKE I SAID, WERE NOT FACING CHALLENGES LIKE WILDFIRES STILL GOING. SO FOR ME, THATS BEEN A LITTLE DIFFERENT WHERE IT JUST FEELS LIKE THIS HASNT THAT WE HAVENT REACHED A COMPLETE STOP. BUT ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, THEY DO HAVE A LOT MORE CONTAINMENT ON THE FIRES OUT HERE. AND THAT WILL ALSO HELP MY FAMILY FEEL BETTER. BAEZA SAYS HER FAMILY HAS GOTTEN A LOT OF SUPPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY, AND GLAD EVERYONE WAS ABLE TO GE