TAXES: Lower taxes for owner-occupied homes

Montana recently passed a far-reaching law cutting property taxes on owner occupied and long-term rental homes to 0.76% while raising taxes on second homes and short-term rentals to 1.9% per year. That’s two and a half times more for the latter.

On a $500,000 property’s annual tax bill that’s $3,800 compared to $9,500!

This could force many legacy vacation or empty properties on the market, boosting inventory.

South Carolina has a similar approach, basically triple taxing non-owner-occupied homes, even rentals. Which might partly explain why the cost of living is cheaper on the Carolina coast than Seattle, a reality that helped lure Boeing to build planes there.

Who does or doesn’t pay taxes matters. It can kill or embolden investing in any property.

This I know: Here in the Inland Northwest government workers and retirees are the privileged, particularly those who work a government job in Washington or retire here from California, Oregon or Washington on a public pension — pensioners who make more on a pension than Idahoans do employed in the same job! 

It takes at least $150K in income to qualify for a mortgage to buy most homes here. Who makes that much money? 

One would think the windfall of taxes local governments across received through escalating home values raising property taxes in the last five years would have been enough? Apparently not.

Maybe Idaho will follow Montana and lower taxes on owner-occupied homes. Should it?

J MIKE RENO 

Newman Lake, Wash.