603: 'Nobody in the nation is doing what North Dakota is doing'

Though his instance on a "skin in the game" provision in property tax reform -- effectively a cap on how much of the primary residence credit property owners could receive -- was one of the major flash points during this year's legislative session, Senate Majority Leader David Hogue says he's satisfied with the outcome overall.

More than that, really. He was downright enthusiastic on this episode of Plain Talk. "Nobody, whether you measured it on a per capita basis, whether you measure it on a percentage of your surplus that you gave back to the taxpayer, nobody in the nation is doing what North Dakota is doing," he said.

"You know, what Minnesota did last session when they had a surplus, they don't have a surplus this session. So, guess what? No tax relief," Hogue said. "Montana, the same thing. They are trying some income tax relief."

Hogue also extolled a provision in the property tax package that went overlooked by many, but which he sees as important.

"Our rural legislators were interested in seeing more funding for rural infrastructure, but they were also interested in seeing that funding source be something that isn't flat and static like our gasoline tax," he said. "And so in addition to using the Legacy Fund earnings to fund the primary residents tax credit, we also tied 2% of those Legacy Fund earnings to go into the DOT budget and specifically to fund rural infrastructure. County roads. Bridges."

Which isn't to say that he thought the property tax package was perfect. "The biggest issue that probably went unreported was how many people are eligible for the primary residence tax credit and how many are going to claim it," Hogue said.

The Tax Commissioner's office was estimating around 160,000 eligible homes, he continued, while the Senate's estimate was around 144,000. "If you do that math, that's 16,000 primary residence applications times two in a bienium. That's 32,000 homes times a $1,600 tax credit," he said. "That's a $50 million item of difference that you're trying to factor into the amount of tax relief."

He expects the Tax Commissioner may be coming to lawmakers for more funding for the property tax credits.

Also on this episode, my co-host Chad Oban and I discuss the public reaction to my story about Jesse Burgum being misleading about her dad Doug Burgum's financial involvement in her fiml career and news that once-disqualified and infamous baseball legends like Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson are now eligible for the Hall of Fame.

This episode is presented by Lignite Energy Council, an organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing the development of North Dakota’s abundant lignite resources. Their goal is to maintain a viable lignite coal industry and support the generation of electricity, synthetic natural gas, and valuable byproducts. Visit www.Lignite.com/Podcast to connect and learn more.

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