The 7% "bed tax," on motels, lodges, etc. is erssentially a sales tax directed specically at the tourist industry. But of that 7%, 3% goes into the general fund, and in eastern Montana, where incomes are normally lower than western Montana, an across-the-board sales tax would tend to be a heavier burden on many locals.
Property taxes in Montana are levied on a local basis, adjusted for property value. Dunno what's happening in your part of the state, but in my particular county in rural southwestern Montana, our property taxes haven't gone up much in the 27 years we've lived here. But they sure have in Bozeman, and to a lesser extent Helena, which are in other counties on either side of us.
One thing's for sure: Not enough of the tax money from the oil and gas industry got spent in eastern Montana, where it was needed most.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
