FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – September 2^nd, 2008                      

 Contact: Dustin Gawrylow, (701) 223-9887

Taxpayer Group Releases Analysis of Governor Hoeven’s Latest Tax Plan

Bismarck, N.D. – Today, Governor Hoeven announced an expansion of his previously announced property tax relief plan.  The Governor says the plan will reduce property taxes statewide by 75 mills and that this would result in a 20% reduction of property taxes. 

“We understand that property taxes are a major issue today, but the as the following table using mill levy data from the North Dakota League of Cities’ shows, of the 11 largest cities Bismarck receives the largest percentage property tax reduction of 18.3%,” state policy director Dustin Gawrylow said.

The governor’s new plan also includes a $100 million income tax reduction that represents a 42 basis point cut in each individual income tax bracket.

“During the 2007 legislative session, House Bill 1170 was introduced as an income tax reduction.  It would have reduced each tax bracket by 20 basis points, less than half of what the governor’s latest plan calls for.  This bill failed to pass the Republican legislature by a single vote,” Gawrylow continued. “We’ve seen the legislature fail to provide true property tax reform and fail to provide minimal income tax reductions, why would we think the next legislature would be any different?”

Last week, Measure Two was certified for the November 4^th, 2008 General Election ballot.  Measure Two, if passed by a simple majority of the voters, would reduce individual state income tax rates by 50% across-the-board and corporate state income tax rates by 15% across the board.

“We welcome the Governor to the discussion on how to best reduce the tax burden on the people of North Dakota.  However, Measure Two allows the voters the chance to decide whether they would like to roll the dice and hope the next legislature will do something to help ease their tax burden, or if they want guaranteed tax relief starting with their first paycheck next January.  The 2007 legislature spent 78 days debating the property tax and came up with an income tax credit, all that did was shift the burden.  Measure Two offers real permanent tax relief for every North Dakotan that collects a paycheck,” concluded Gawrylow.

Impact of Governor Hoeven’s Plan – Larger Cities