BILLINGS – Members of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation and Montana Taxpayers Association have filed a class action lawsuit against the state Department of Revenue contending property tax increases have not been phased in properly.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in Meagher County, and says that state tax officials failed to “correctly calculate phase-in amounts for agricultural properties statewide.”
The groups argue that tax increases in Montana are supposed to be spread over six years at a rate of 16.6 percent annually.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs say nearly the entire increase in the 2009 reappraisal took place in the first year.
State tax officials on Friday said they had only received unofficial notice of the lawsuit and were preparing a response.