“End Unfair Property Tax” Moves One Step Closer to Eliminating Property Taxes

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – The battle to end all property taxes in North Dakota continues. On Friday, the battle reached a new stage.

Nearly 32,000 signatures. That’s what the group “End Unfair Property Taxes” needed to get a measure ending the taxes on the November ballot. As of Friday, they’ve submitted more than 40,000 signatures to the state Capitol.

“We have a little over 30% excess signatures, which is fantastic,” said Rick Becker, president of End Unfair Property Tax.

“Because we know the secretary of state is going to come through, they’ll throw some of them away. But obviously we should have more than enough to get it on the ballot in November.”

Rick Becker, a former state representative, is behind the measure. First, current lawmakers support it.

“As our citizens age and retire, their home values and property taxes are increasing. Many of them have a fixed income. To the point where their fixed income is too low to pay their property tax. They’re going to have to sell their homes, which will cause people to leave their homes because they can’t afford it,” said North Dakota Rep. Jim Kasper (R – District 46).

Earlier this month, the national “Keep it Local” coalition launched a new campaign to ensure these property taxes remain in effect.

“First of all, it’s not a bad plan. It’s a bad plan, with no plan to replace the $1.3 billion in lost revenue,” said Chad Oban, president of Keep it Local.

“I think the idea of defunding the police, firefighters and schools based on sales pitches, or someone saying ‘Don’t trust us, we’ll take care of it’ is not really a plan to keep our communities safe and our schools strong. »

If the measure is adopted in November, starting in 2026, taxpayers will be able to get back in their pockets everything they paid in property taxes.