Montana’s March Bracket Busting Mania…This is Good

We've told you about the big news here in Montana- folks of all income ranges will be getting a tax cut AND you'll be receiving both income and property tax rebate checks.

Over a billion dollars in property tax relief will be going out to Montanans thanks to Governor Greg Gianforte and the Republican supermajority in the state legislature.

They also achieved another major accomplishment that most of us in Montana may not have even realized until The Wall Street Journal heaped praise on Governor Gianforte in a weekend editorial headlined: Montana Makes Its Income Taxes Flatter

There’s another kind of bracket-mania sweeping the country, and its effects will last long beyond the NCAA basketball tournament. More than a dozen states that have cut tax rates lately have also slashed the number of income brackets. The result is a simpler and fairer tax code that combines a broad base with lower rates.

According to the WSJ, Montana will now go from having seven tax brackets to just two- delivering far more simplicity to the system facing taxpayers. The WSJ later added that "Montana enacted its income tax in 1933 with four brackets but expanded to 10 by 1971."

We discussed this great news with Evelyn Pyburn from The Big Sky Business Journal earlier this week. She made the point that this is getting national attention, and yet many in the local media don't seem as interested in touting this great news.

Evelyn Pyburn: I think it might have something to do with the fact that the Republicans are largely responsible for this. I think almost every Democrat has opposed these tax cuts (She's right- they all opposed them). And, you know, I don't comprehend how they think that's a winning position to have. Because,  even- no matter what side of the political spectrum you're on- you don't like taxes. So I don't encounter many people who like paying taxes, and I think everyone's going to be happy about this.

Evelyn also pointed out another aspect of the state's massive surplus that followed the tax cuts delivered during the last legislative session:

Evelyn Pyburn: How much do we have to have the evidence of lowering taxes increases revenues for the state and as well as for business?

She pointed out that due to the tax cuts and conservative spending in Montana, combined with the Trump tax cuts- "suddenly the tax revenues explode once you reduce the rates...doesn't matter how many times it's been demonstrated. The Left constantly opposes it, and it just doesn't make sense why they oppose it if they're interested in actually increasing revenue."