Montana Property Tax

In 1986 Montana voters approved Initiative 105 which purported to freeze property taxes. Have property taxes in fact remained constant in the ensuing years? Why do property taxes continue to be such a controversial issue in Montana? How have different areas of the state fared? Should property taxes be limited in some fashion, perhaps by basing them on fixed property values in some particular year?

About 90% of eligible Montana households have applied for the $400 property tax rebate approved in the 2007 legislative session.The last 10% have until December 31st to apply.As of Friday morning, the Department of Revenue had doled out just shy of $88.9 million in property tax refunds.The department sent out about 8,500 reminder letters right before Thanksgiving. The next week saw an upsurge in the number of applications: about 3,000 compared to the 1,500 they'd been getting in previous weeks.Only homeowners are eligible for the refund, and you must have occupied your home as your principal residence for at least seven months in 2006. Only one claim can be made for each principal residence.