Montana Sales Tax Debate: Residents Weigh In

Montana doesn’t have a statewide sales tax. What you see on the price tag is what you pay at the register. There is something comforting in that. It’s always a shock to me when I travel to a different state and the price I end up paying is more than the sticker.

Montana’s History Without a Sales Tax

Conversations about taxes in Montana are nothing new, and it doesn’t look like they are going to stop anytime soon. If you are looking for a little tax relief, and if you qualify, now is the time to apply for the property tax rebate.

It seems like every few years, the specific conversation about a statewide sales tax in Montana comes up again. It’s almost like clockwork.

Where Resort Taxes Exist in Montana

There are places in Montana that do have a resort tax, Whitefish, Red Lodge, Big Sky, and West Yellowstone impose a 3% resort tax, according to The Sales Tax Institute. If you have visited those places odds are you have paid that tax.

I think it's safe to say that nobody wants to see any tax increase. The discussion of a statewide sales tax has been brought up again recently, and we wanted to know how you would feel if a statewide sales tax were added here in Montana.

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There was a time when the answer would be a resounding no, end of discussion. These days it seems there are more people who are open to compromise. They are willing to discuss it, if it could mean doing away with a property tax.

A lot of locals would like to see tourists and visitors help with the state's tax burden. How to have that happen is also open to debate.

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If the topic does come up in Montana’s next legislative session or election, representatives should know that, according to our listeners, there is little belief that a true tradeoff would ever happen. Any talk about doing away with property tax in exchange for a statewide sales tax in Montana would be just that, talk.

What Listeners Had to Say

Below are some of the comments from our listeners, where we received over a thousand responses.

Montana's Sales Tax Debate

We asked our listeners how they would feel about a statewide sales tax in Montana. With over a thousand responses, here is a sample of what they are saying about the subject.

Gallery Credit: Chris Wolfe