Bonner County Commissioner Karl Dye told the House Rev & Tax Committee this morning that the Intermountain West is becoming the “Third Coast” – the place where people want to retire and live out their life in a beautiful setting. That’s pushing up local property values.

Dye spoke out in favor of HB 503, proposed by Rep. George Eskridge, R-Dover, and Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, and co-sponsored by six other lawmakers: Reps. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake; Bill Deal, R-Nampa; Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls; Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene; Clifford Bayer, R-Boise; and Sen. Joyce Broadsword, R-Sagle. The bill would cap increases in tax values for owner-occupied residential property to 3 percent a year.

With values rising quickly, “How can you budget and know that you have enough money to retire?” Dye asked. “What this bill does is … it makes our property tax system more predictable. … It gives them some security for the future that they can stay in their homes.”

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