1. United States
2. Mont.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to oppose Governor Gianforte's proposal to move Montana to a flat income tax system ahead of the 2027 legislative session. This policy, presented at a Mountain States Policy Center event on February 24, would fundamentally shift Montana's tax burden away from wealthy residents and onto working families. Montana currently has a graduated income tax system that asks those with higher incomes to contribute proportionally more. A flat tax eliminates this progressive structure, requiring someone earning $40,000 annually to pay the same rate as someone earning $400,000. This is not tax reform. It is a transfer of tax responsibility from those most able to pay to those least able to afford it. The proposal compares Montana to neighboring states like Idaho's 5.3% flat tax and North Dakota's 2.5% top rate, but fails to acknowledge how these states fund essential services or the actual tax burden on middle-income families when all taxes are considered. Wyoming and South Dakota, cited as having no income tax, rely heavily on other revenue sources that often hit working families harder, including sales taxes and property taxes. The accompanying proposal for revenue triggers to further reduce income taxes when extraordinary revenue growth occurs would compound this problem. These triggers prioritize tax cuts over investments in education, infrastructure, and services that working Montanans depend on. When revenue grows, it should strengthen our communities, not automatically flow back to those who need it least. Montana's working families are already struggling with rising costs for housing, healthcare, and childcare. Shifting more of the tax burden onto them while reducing what higher earners pay is fundamentally unfair. I urge you to reject this flat tax proposal and instead support tax policies that maintain fairness and adequately fund the services that make Montana communities strong.