One of our listeners, Larry in Great Falls, shared a great update- a bill to stop taxing Social Security benefits in Montana is moving forward in the state House of Representatives.

The Governor and Republican lawmakers have pledged to deliver income tax and property tax relief once again this session. Could this get across the finish line too?

Here's what Joey Grewell, Communications Director for the Montana House of Representatives, tells us:

The effort in question is HB 148: Repeal state tax on social security income. It passed second reading in House and has a hearing in House Appropriations tomorrow (Wednesday) @ 2:00pm to be vetted. While there has been some support for this in the past, it comes with significant fiscal impact the state has to address. Individuals that are solely on social security income aren’t taxed, this will only effect those with other benefits. We will have to see how the hearing goes.

Here's What I Wrote Back in April of 2020: A Sales Tax is Going Nowhere, Let’s Stop Taxing Social Security

Whether a Republican is elected governor, or a Democrat is elected governor- let's be honest, a statewide sales tax is going nowhere in Montana. How many decades have we been talking about that now?

Nonetheless, I did have to laugh when I saw a news story about banning a statewide sales tax here in Montana. I know Democrat gubernatorial candidate Mike Cooney's campaign was simply hoping to get some media attention. In the end; though, they basically ended up calling more attention to the fact that Cooney himself supports local option sales taxes, and had his name on a statewide sales tax bill in the early 2000s.

Either way, both Gianforte and Cooney say they oppose a statewide sales tax. So what's a much more important topic to actually cover? How about a bill that actually went somewhere?

As I've previously reported, Montana is one of just a handful of states that actually taxes your social security benefits. A bill to reduce taxes on your social security benefits was carried by State Sen. Dave Howard (R-Park City). It actually passed both the state house and the state senate, but was vetoed by Cooney's running mate- Gov. Steve Bullock (D-MT).

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Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz