The Montana Supreme Court Wednesday ordered counties to collect the full amount of property taxes ordered by the state.
Property appraisals skyrocketed across the state this year. That means higher tax bills for Montana homeowners.
In response, the vast majority of Montana counties said they wouldn’t collect the full tax for public schools.
Both the Montana Association of Counties and the state Department of Revenue petitioned the Supreme Court to rule whether counties could do so. In a unanimous decision, the court sided with the state. Arguing the Department has sole authority to calculate the tax and that counties must collect the full amount.