Tim Sheehy Failed To Pay Montana Livestock Taxes
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
CONTACT
monica@mtdems.org
Sheehy “hasn't registered his cattle or farm animals in years with the state”
Helena, MT – According to new reporting from Daily Beast, Tim Sheehy hasn’t registered any livestock with the state of Montana, skipping out on potentially tens of thousands of dollars in livestock taxes. The “per capita fee” Sheehy dodged is one that every Montana livestock owner pays annually, and the revenue from it funds crucial Montana Department of Livestock agricultural and conservation programs across the state.
Read more:
Daily Beast: He’s Running for Senate as a Montana Rancher. He’s Skipped Out on the Rancher Taxes.
By Sam Brodey
July 18, 2023
Tim Sheehy hasn't registered his cattle or farm animals in years with the state. When The Daily Beast asked his campaign about it, they acknowledged Sheehy had messed up.
But Sheehy and his partners’ reputation may be a little spottier than he’d like to present. In fact, they failed to meet a bare minimum standard for every Montana rancher and farmer—one that is crucial to supporting the state’s agriculture and conservation programs.
Each year, anyone who has livestock in the state—even “one horse or a few chickens,” per state guidance—is required to report the number of their animals to the Montana Department of Revenue. They then have to pay a so-called “per capita fee” for every animal, ranging from five cents per chicken to $2.29 per head of cattle, which the government uses to fund a variety of programs benefiting livestock owners and the public.
A department official replied that Sheehy, his business partners, and Little Belt Cattle Company had never reported any livestock with the government, according to a copy of the email shared with The Daily Beast.
Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Sheehy said that “not filing the report was an oversight, which is being fixed.”
The Sheehy spokesperson did not address questions asking how much Little Belt Cattle owes to the state government, or any information about the livestock population on the property.
Even if unintentional, the non-payments have saved Sheehy’s ranch—at least until The Daily Beast raised the issue—from a tax bill likely totaling tens of thousands of dollars. Livestock owners who have not paid their per capita fees can be subject to additional late fees as well as interest on those fees.
With livestock reports due in February of each year, and livestock owners receiving bills in May, it’s likely that Sheehy has not paid required fees for four years, from 2020 to 2023.
In a rural state where ranching and farming are cultural and economic touchstones, the way candidates position themselves in relation to these industries are watched closely by voters and often help define elections.
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