January 8, 2018

MTPR: Federal Tax Bill Casts Uncertainty on Montana’s Budget

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The federal tax bill could result in about another one percent loss, under one of the state’s interpretations of the federal law’s impacts.

Meg Wiehe is deputy director the left-leaning Washington D.C. based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. She says that there was an amendment added to the federal tax bill to prevent a revenue loss because of the pass through deduction at the state level. But Wiehe says it was approved by Congress at the last minute, and that could have added to this confusion.

“So the fact that there is any sort of ambiguity in interpretation that is still up in the air in Montana suggests to me that this is largely a technical glitch,” Wiehe says. “I can see both sides.”

Wiehe says a shortfall of tax revenue in Montana because of the federal tax bill is possible, even if it wasn’t Congress’s intent. Read more



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