524: 'Bill Gates doesn't need another tax break'

Plain Talk

Even if North Dakota voters approve Measure 4, a constitutional amendment that would disallow taxes on real estate values, our state and its elected leaders will still need to figure out how to replace the roughly $2.4 billion in revenues those taxes generate very budget cycle.

We're going to pay for it. The question is how.

Neal Messer, a farmer, businessman, and commissioner in Stark County, joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss what that problem might look like from a local level.

One upshot? Property owners may still be stuck with a property tax. "It does open the door where we could tax property based on square footage," Messer told us, though he added that the measure itself is "not very well written."

"The challenge is five years from now," he added, pointing out that Measure 4 obligates state lawmakers to replace the revenues from property value taxes, but only at four years from now. Messer argues that, thanks to things like inflation, the cost of something like paving a road is going to cost more in five years than it does today, and yet Measure 4 would pin the Legislature's obligation for paying for local government eternally in 2024.

Messer also says he's worried about giving big companies and out-of-state landowners a big tax break by eliminating the tax on property values. He pointed to Marathon Oil, which pays a big tax bill in his county that in turn does a lot to fund local schools, but would be able to keep that money in their out of state headquarters should Measure 4 pass.

There are also wealthy, out-of-state landowners who would benefit as well, he argues. "Bill Gates doesn't need another tax break."

Also on this episode, my co-host Chad Oban and I discuss why I was wrong about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz being bad pick as runningmate for Vice President Kamala Harris.

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