Montana residents, do you know what happens if you miscalculate and under pay your property taxes by even just a few dollars? The government can seize your property, sell it to an investor, and leave you with nothing.
The Montana Legislature is considering a bipartisan fix; sign the petition to support the effort!
If a Montana taxpayer mistakenly underpays his or her property taxes, even by a few dollars, the county will sell the taxpayer’s home to an investor and not give the property owner a dime.
Under Montana’s tax forfeiture law, a county can sell tax debts to investors as a tax lien. After three years, if the taxpayer has not paid off the taxes and penalties the investor automatically receives full ownership of the property. The homeowner is evicted – and gets nothing – not even his equity.
Most people don’t intentionally fail to pay their property taxes. Life happens; people miscalculate, people get sick, or sometimes people just hit unexpected financial hardships. Under Montana law, it doesn’t matter why you underpaid your property taxes, you can and will lose your entire nest-egg.
Good news: the Montana legislature is considering a bipartisan bill to fix this right now.
Add your name to the list to encourage the legislature to do the right thing on tax forfeiture reform.
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