It was standing room only in the House Taxation Committee, mostly in support of a $15.-million Montana workforce housing tax credit program. House Bill 21, a state-specific version of an existing federal program, gives tax credits for affordable housing projects. Proponents say it will help increase the much-needed supply of homes.
C-R Builders President Don Sterhan of Billings and a member of Governor Greg Gianforte’s Housing Task Force supports House Bill 21, giving examples of where the federal credit program has fallen short.
“Previously, we’ve relied Montana on federal programs,” Sterhan said. “This is one request. One opportunity for us as a state to do something on a program-level to contribute towards that, filling that gap.”
The Montana Society of Certified Public Accountants’ John Iverson told the committee they’re in favor of affordable housing, but oppose further complicating the Montana tax code.
“ Our recommendation is that if we’re going to allocate the $1.5 million that are shown on your fiscal note, just give them to the Board of Housing and allow them to directly hand out that money instead of handing it out through tax code.”
He was the only opponent to the bill. Eighteen people testified for the bill, including Missoula Mayor Andrea Davis.
KGEZ 20-20 News thanks Clayton Murphy, of the University of Montana School of Journalism, for his work on this story. The Montana Broadcasters and the Newspapers Associations and the Greater Montana Foundation provided funding for these reports.
