Gov. Doug Burgum has presented his “Relief For All” state income tax plan to the Legislature’s Interim Taxation Committee.
The plan would lower the income tax rate to a flat 1.5 percent. Burgum told the Committee it would be the lowest flat-tax rate in the nation. And he said some would pay no income tax.
"This would insure that 60 percent of North Dakotans won't have to pay income tax," Burgum told the Committee. "That means we'd be eliminating income tax permanently in North Dakota for 388,000 citizens, or nearly three out of five filers."
The price tag would be about $250 million.
The committee is also considering proposals for permanent property tax relief. State Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus told the committee this isn’t an “income versus property tax” issue.
"We have to recognize that 37.5 percent of North Dakotans do not have home ownership," Kroshus said. "They're renting. And it's not just low income individuals — it's middle income and higher income people. So how do we cast as wide a net as possible to provide as much relief as possible?"
The interim committee chairman – Sen. Dale Patten (R-Watford City) – said he doesn’t think his committee will forward a bill draft to the 2023 Legislature. He said he thinks both concepts will have their own measures and hearings during the Session.