26 August 2023 — 0301 mdt

Trying to get a Montana tax rebate: one
woman’s exasperating experience

Guest essay by Jan Lombardi

OK, armed and ready, I sat down with a computer, a postcard and letter from Governor Gianforte and two letters from his Revenue Department on how to get a property tax rebate.

Logged on to website and bonk – What’s a geocode? Frustrated, I set the paperwork aside.

Days later, thought I’d try again and Googled, “What is a Montana Geocode?” Good ole Google took me to a website with four pages of instructions on how to get the code necessary to complete an application for a tax rebate. Adding more paperwork to the pile, I found the 17-digit code and started the application again. Hmmm. I was asked to fill out more numbers and data from papers that the Revenue Department mailed to me or already knows about me.

What infuriates me most is a request to verify that my claim is not fraudulent. Then they ask for my email and cell phone number! Wrapping up, I could print my claim was accepted — who has a printer? What happened to the Republican Party that touts less government, lower taxes, and privacy? Gone, apparently.

Governor Gianforte raised my taxes, created red tape, and took personal information. What a scam.

Jan Lombardi lives in Seeley Lake, a town in Missoula County.