A press release from the state Department of Revenue yesterday took an interesting take on the term "tax relief."  Under the title, "Owner of fire-impacted property, forestlands may qualify for tax relief," the release quotes Gov. Schweitzer saying, "Our hearts go out to those Montanans whose homes, lands, and other property have been damaged or destroyed by this year's wildfires.  We want them to know that we can provide some relief on their upcoming property tax bill."

The release goes on, "A property owner whose home or outbuildings were partially or totally destroyed by wildfire, rendering the property unsuitable for its previous use, may be eligible for property tax relief.  The tax relief is prorated on the number of days in the tax year that the property was unusable....Property owners must complete Form AB-25 to apply for the property tax relief.  Property owners are encouraged to complete the application form by the end of the year, to ensure that the property's taxable value can be adjusted for the next tax billing cycle."

Duh.  If your property burns up, it doesn't have the value that it did in its original form, thus you don't owe as much tax on it.  But can you really call that "relief"?  The usual connotation of tax relief is a reduction in taxes owed.  In this case those taxes aren't owed because the property was destroyed or damaged.

Alerting taxpayers to the fact that they must complete a form to ensure that they won't be taxed on the original value of the property is a good thing.  But the Gov shouldn't pretend that he's doing anyone a favor here; his claim that this is "relief" is patently disingenuous. 

This remind us of last year when the Gov claimed that he cut taxes on "16,000 small businesses" when what he actually did was increase the overall business equipment tax for most Montana businesses.  It all just goes to show that with this governor, the rhetoric usually doesn't match reality.