June 20, 2012

North Dakota Voters Reject a Property Tax Ban

While voters in North Dakota have overwhelmingly rejected a constitutional amendment to abolish the property tax, state lawmakers are gearing up to make property tax reform a central issue in the next legislative session.

According to a recent article in The Jamestown Sun, the legislature is exploring several possible reform measures, including:

  • Increasing state funding for K-12 education (currently at an average of 70%),
  • Expanding the state’s homestead tax credit to all property owners,
  • Placing caps or controls on local spending, and
  • Reducing state mandates on towns and school boards.
The constitutional amendment would have made North Dakota the first state in the country to place a constitutional ban on the property tax.  The campaign to eliminate the tax comes as the state is awash in oil and gas tax revenues, with projected reserves of $5 billion.