Montana Chamber supports Regier's tax cut plan

The Montana Chamber of Commerce announced Jan. 22 that it supports House Bill 166, which calls for each of Montana’s seven marginal tax rates by 0.1 percent. The bill is sponsored by House Majority Leader Keith Regier, R-Kalispell.

“Despite national economic circumstances, Montana taxpayers have been fueling large budget surpluses for the past several biennia,” said Glenn Oppel, the Montana Chamber’s government relations director. “We feel it’s time to return some of that surplus to its primary origin — individual taxpayers.”

Individual income tax revenues make up nearly half of Montana’s two-year general fund budget of nearly $4.3 billion, Oppel said. Individual income tax revenues for the 2013-2014 biennium surpassed $1 billion annually for the first time in the Montana’s history — an increase of 22 percent from the 2011-2012 biennium.

Going into the 2015 Legislature, lawmakers are sitting on a surplus of about $350 million, he said.

“Although a modest tax cut, HB 166 also would take the right step in making Montana’s personal income tax more attractive to businesses looking to move their operations to a state with a more competitive tax climate,” Oppel said. “Montana lawmakers have an opportunity to, with recent budget surpluses, reduce personal income taxes to send a message to the mobile global business community that our state is open for business.”

The Montana Chamber of Commerce has 1,200 members, ranging from small to large businesses.