Gallatin County home paid a staggering $10k in unpopular Governor’s property taxes in 2023
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LIVINGSTON, Mont. — A home in Gallatin County got slammed with a staggering 111% tax increase in 2023, thanks to Gov. Greg Gianforte’s record residential property tax increase. Gianforte, meanwhile, has refused to explain why the residential property taxes on his mansion at 618 Madison Avenue in Helena went down by nearly 7% in 2023, while virtually all of his neighbors got tax significant tax increases.
According to public records, a privately owned home at 684 Blue Roan Lane in Belgrade paid $4,701.90 in property taxes in 2022, then $9,945.65 in property taxes in 2023—a single-year increase of $5,243.75, or 111.52%.
Montana homeowners were eligible for an opt-in $675 property tax “rebate” in 2023, but it would take eight $675 rebates to cover a $5,243.75 tax increase. Gianforte has falsely said that a $675 rebate “more than compensates” for his tax increases. According to the Montana Free Press, some 65,600 qualified Montana households did not get their $675 rebates in 2023.
When asked by the Montana Television Network why Gianforte’s own residential property taxes went down on his Helena mansion in 2023, he refused to answer.
An analysis of publicly available data shows Gianforte enjoyed the biggest tax cut among more than 75 homes in his Helena neighborhood. Public records show Gianforte paid $8,606.76 in 2022, then $8,012.06 in 2023, a decrease of 6.91%.
Gianforte recently sent a taxpayer-funded letter to Montana households, falsely blaming county and city governments for his unpopular tax increase.
“We’ve seen property taxes rise too much as some local governments grow their spending at alarming rates,” Gianforte lies in the letter, which was sent to approximately 300,000 households at taxpayer expense.
Montana’s governor, not county or city governments, solely controls the residential property tax rate.
“Blaming this (tax hike) on local entities, like city council members or county commissioners, is the political equivalent of farting in an elevator and pointing at someone else,” The Daily Montanan’s Darrell Ehrlick wrote in November. “It’s embarrassing, and it’s a lie.”
Former firearms executive Ryan Busse on Tuesday released a social media video recorded in front of the home in Gallatin County.
QUICK FACTS:
- Pronunciation: Ryan BUSS’-ee
- Home: Kalispell, Mont.
- Office Sought: Governor of Montana
- Affiliation: Democrat
- Website: busseformontana.com
- X (Twitter): @ryandbusse
- DOB: 2/23/70 (53)
- Occupation: Writer, Consultant, Firearms Expert and Former Executive (Vice President of Sales, Kimber America: 1995-2020)
- Family: Married to Sara for 24 years; two sons: Lander (18) and Badge (15)
- Alma Mater: Bethany College (Kansas)
- Chevy Odometer: 280,000 miles
- Hunting Dogs: Aldo and Teddy
- Bio: Ryan Busse is an author and former firearms executive who helped build the gun company Kimber from Kalispell between 1995 and 2020. Over his 25-year career Busse directed the sales of nearly three million Kimber firearms. His memoir, Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry that Radicalized America, was published by PublicAffairs (Hachette) in 2021. Busse was born near the Kansas cattle ranch homesteaded by his great-grandfather. He is an avid hunter, angler and champion of public lands, and has held leadership positions with Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and Montana Conservation Voters. Busse and his wife Sara live in Kalispell and have two teenage sons.