Don’t believe the hogwash coming from swamp creatures like Llew Jones; the Democrat-backed tax shift hurts rural Montanans as much as anyone here in our great state. Jones claims that the Montana Republican Party is “censoring” rural Republicans, but nothing could be further from the truth. Calling out the tax-shift slop passed by Democrats and their big-government cronies is defending the interests and values of Montana families, farmers, ranchers, and business owners.
Let’s look at the numbers straight from Montana’s Department of Revenue. Statewide, the tax shift raised taxes on agricultural properties by 5.6 percent, and that figure is several times higher in many areas. In Richland County, taxes on agricultural properties went up 49.9 percent. Yes, you read that correctly.
Much of the blame for increasing property taxes is rightfully placed on local and county governments, but the statewide tax shift and double-digit increase in the state budget certainly didn’t help the issue.
The data makes it clear: Llew Jones and other Democrat-beholden legislators betrayed their voters during the 2025 session, and now they’re trying to deceive them with pure horse pucky. They made backroom deals to grow the state budget, raise your taxes, and block key Republican bills.
Worse yet, they won’t defend their positions in a public forum. Jones and other vocal proponents of the tax shift were invited to the Montana Republican Party’s Winter Kickoff to debate the legislation in good faith. That’s hardly censorship! However, every single one of them declined to show up or simply didn’t respond to the invitation at all.
Jones and his swamp cronies don’t properly represent rural Montanans, and their attempt to portray themselves as champions of farmers and ranchers is laughable. That’s why we’re writing this column as representatives of rural Montana districts – to dispel the dishonesty and set the record straight.
Many Montanans saw a lower property tax bill, but it’s at the expense of Montana farmers, ranchers, business owners, renters, and families with generational homes. The bill pits Montanans against each other, picking winners and losers. That’s not Republican policy, it’s a progressive tax shift policy straight out of the Democrat playbook. Everyday Montanans don’t want to punish hard work and success. Democrats and their lackeys like Llew Jones clearly do.
Senator Bob Phalen (SD-17), Representative Greg Kmetz (HD-36), and Representative Jerry Schillinger (HD-34)
Published in Lee Enterprises newspapers, February 28, 2026 (https://helenair.com/opinion/column/article_89e80f09-bb4a-55cc-a0aa-a3e11ade47dd.html)
