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‘We just can’t take this anymore’: Montana man, 68, begs for ‘moratorium on property taxes’ after his bill reaches $8K a year just ‘to live in our own house’
moneywise ^ | June 10, 2024 | Bethan Moorcraft

Posted on 06/11/2024 6:49:09 AM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?

A senior from Montana has delivered a viral speech about the sorry state of property taxes in the Treasure State.

“I’m on Social Security, I’m 68-years-old and working just to pay my taxes,” says Kurt, in a clip shared on TikTok by Ryan Busse, who is running to be the next governor of Montana.

Kurt claims that over the last couple of years, his annual property taxes have soared from $895 to almost $8,000 — an increase of around 790% — which he says is like paying almost “$700 a month rent to the state to live in our own house.” The state has an Elderly Homeowner/Renter Tax Credit, and the maximum credit is $1,150.

“There needs to be a moratorium on what we have to pay,” he says, adding that he’s had to continue working into what should be his retirement golden years to cover his mounting property costs. “I’m stubborn enough [that] I don’t want to dig into my bank account to pay them.”

(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Chit/Chat; Society
KEYWORDS: bidenomics; maganomics; montana; propertytaxes; realestatetax; retirement; tax; taxmoratorium
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To: aMorePerfectUnion

That isn’t going to happen.

Have you seen all those articles by the left about how seniors need to get out of their homes they own that are too big and make them available for families. (probably foreign illegals)


21 posted on 06/11/2024 7:04:17 AM PDT by dforest ( )
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

The “property tax” is incremental confiscation of your property. Every year, they take a percentage of it. In a few years they’ve taken the entire value of the property.

If the “property tax” is 33 mills, it’s actually 3.3%. If they take that much every year, in 30 years they will have taken the entire value of your property.

You only think you own it. You are giving a piece of it to the government every year.

The ultimate goal of the marxists is to eliminate all private property.


22 posted on 06/11/2024 7:04:54 AM PDT by I want the USA back (Voltaire: To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.)
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To: 1Old Pro

Proposition 13 provides three very important functions in property tax assessments in California. Under Prop 13, all real property has established base year values, a restricted rate of increase on assessments of no greater than 2% each year, and a limit on property taxes to 1% of the assessed value (plus additional voter-approved taxes).


23 posted on 06/11/2024 7:05:43 AM PDT by TheDon (Resist the usurpers! Remember the J6 political prisoners!)
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To: Gay State Conservative

F property taxes. We pay out the @ss while the illegals get everything for free. This is going to get really ugly and fast.


24 posted on 06/11/2024 7:06:43 AM PDT by spincaster
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

Bottom lines is that your property is NEVER actually yours.


25 posted on 06/11/2024 7:06:55 AM PDT by rktman (Destroy America from within? Check! WTH? Enlisted USN 1967 to end up with this💩? 🚫💉! 🇮🇱👍!)
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To: Gay State Conservative

He lives in Kalispell.

Property values have tripled there since about 2012, most of it in the last 3 years due to the massive influx from coastal cities during Covid.

Montana has no mechanism like California’s Prop 13 to protect people on fixed incomes. So these kind of personal disaster stories are becoming common. Lots of the old ranch people simply have to sell out and head elsewhere, usually Arizona or Nevada.


26 posted on 06/11/2024 7:07:08 AM PDT by Regulator (It's fraud, Jim)
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To: ansel12

Years ago I was priced out of the house I had owned for 20 years in suburban Boston.When I arrived it was a middle class town and mine was a middle class house in a middle class neighborhood. But then the neighborhood got hot and houses like mine were being bought,torn down,and $2 million McMansions (on 1/4 acre lots) appeared in their place.


27 posted on 06/11/2024 7:09:20 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Never Trust A Man Whose Uncle Was Eaten By Cannibals)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?
You. Don't. Own. Your. Property.

You are a caretaker for the state, nothing more. You pay a 30 year fee for the privilege of being a caretaker for the state. After 30 years, that fee is reduced, but you will continue paying that fee as long as you choose to be a caretaker for the state.

At any point, you can decide not to be a caretaker for the state and sell your caretakership to another person. Hopefully, the fees for caretakership will have risen since you bought in, and you will have the chance to make a little money off of it. Of course, if you do, there will be a penalty due the state for selling off your caretakership at a profit.

You can also choose to pass your caretakership on to family. If they choose to take the offer, they, too will pay extremely high fees to continue your original caretakership. If they choose to pass it on to a 3rd party, they will pay fines and penalties for selling the caretakership off, and the new buyer will also pay heavily.

During the course of your tenure as caretaker for the state, you may complete projects and renovations to increase the value of your caretakership. Of course, these improvements will be at personal expense, and must not be done until the state has approved of your plans via various permits and more caretakership fees. The state reserves the right to stop any and all improvements it deems unnecessary.

The truth is, you already own nothing, and you're happy!

28 posted on 06/11/2024 7:12:05 AM PDT by dware (Americans prefer peaceful slavery over dangerous freedom)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?
So, these property taxes go almost exclusively to "K-12 schools, law enforcement and fire departments". How much of the increase is due to illegal aliens, directly or indirectly?

I do think there is more to his claimed bill. Surprised in reading this, there was no address and lots of confusion if this was solely a tax bill or not. Regardless, retirees should be protected.

How much responsibility does he have for this? Did he vote for the people making tax decisions? Has he spoken up previously?

29 posted on 06/11/2024 7:13:33 AM PDT by Reno89519 (Build the Wall, Deport Them All. No amnesty for anyone.)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?
People need to start thinking big about what we need to do in this Great Reform or Fifth Great Awakening or MAGA or whatever.

Property taxes are a backdoor way for local governments to do serious harm to the people. Like all the ruin of public schools, tranny ed, communist indoctrination, drugs sold in schools, crime, and ruin of our younger generations.

It's all funded by property taxes.

WE CAN RESCIND LAWS AND TAXES in our new world.

Heck get rid of federal income taxes too while we are at it.

Just put tariffs on all imported goods.

The Free Traders have been lying to us.

Americans need to WAKE UP in the Fifth Great Awakening.

30 posted on 06/11/2024 7:14:22 AM PDT by caddie
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

He does not need such a big house. At his age, he should move to a retirement apartment, then his home can be used to welcome undocumented newcomers. /Leftthink


31 posted on 06/11/2024 7:15:22 AM PDT by UnwashedPeasant (The pandemic we suffer from is not COVID. It is Marxist Democrat Leftism.)
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To: Gay State Conservative

Indeed! :)


32 posted on 06/11/2024 7:16:53 AM PDT by drwoof
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

Only property owners should be allowed to vote. Keeps the tax Moochers on their own dime.


33 posted on 06/11/2024 7:17:10 AM PDT by Justa (Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people....)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

Last year we build a modest new home on a five acre tract of land that we have owned for over 20 years. We are in our mid 60s and our kids are grown and gone so we just wanted a small home to retire in. Our last home, on an adjacent one acre tract, was destroyed in a flood in October of 2018 and it took us almost five years to rebuild it, sell it, and then build a new house on our remaining land, all while living in my in-laws’ one room garage apartment. It was a rough five years, but we finally moved into our new home in September, one month shy of the five year anniversary of the flood.

Last year, the county appraised our vacant land at approx. $250K. Our total cost of construction last year for our new house was approx. $360K. What do you get when you build a $360K house on a $250K tract of land? We got our new tax appraisal last month and the county reappraised our property for $1.9 million. Our property taxes will be over $25K a year. We will have to either keep working for another 10 years or so or sell our home because we cannot retire and pay $25K a year in taxes.


34 posted on 06/11/2024 7:17:20 AM PDT by kennedy (No relation to those other Kennedys.)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

Another reason the Founding Fathers would not recognize this country.


35 posted on 06/11/2024 7:17:21 AM PDT by UnwashedPeasant (The pandemic we suffer from is not COVID. It is Marxist Democrat Leftism.)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

Unless I missed it the article didn’t say how much the house is worth, which matters.


36 posted on 06/11/2024 7:18:01 AM PDT by SaxxonWoods (Are you ready for Black Lives MAGA? It's coming.)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

I watched my ex wifes grandparents lose the home they saved for, a little cottage on a lake, due to 5 figure property tax increase.
Here in michiganstan, we the people had enough!!!
We didn’t petition our useless bush league chamber of commerce republiCAN’Ts that ran this state for decades.
We created a law, got it approved for voting, and put the damn thing on the ballot.
It passed, known as the Headley Amendment.
Property taxes can now only be raised at either the rate of inflation, or 3%, whichever is the lesser amount.
Boy, did the teachers union bitch!!!!
They are still bitching!!!!


37 posted on 06/11/2024 7:20:06 AM PDT by joe fonebone (And the people said NO! The End)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

I pay $22K a year in taxes just to live in my own skin.


38 posted on 06/11/2024 7:20:07 AM PDT by blackdog ((Z28.310) Be careful what you say. Your refrigerator may be listening & reporting you.)
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To: aMorePerfectUnion

“Seniors should be exempt from property taxes.”

I can see homeowners transferring property to their retired parents to get around paying property tax.


39 posted on 06/11/2024 7:22:54 AM PDT by JSM_Liberty
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To: rktman

“Bottom lines is that your property is NEVER actually yours.”

That means nothing is “yours”, your car, your groceries, etc. But yet you can sell your house, and the govt can’t if you pay your taxes. Also, this isn’t a federal matter, it’s a state matter. If you lose your house for not paying taxes, another individual ends up with it. The state of Montana doesn’t keep it or own it, it just sells its lien.


40 posted on 06/11/2024 7:23:36 AM PDT by SaxxonWoods (Are you ready for Black Lives MAGA? It's coming.)
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