Montana Budget & Policy Center
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Even though the novel coronavirus pandemic has pushed back Tax Day this year from April 15 to July 15, MBPC wanted to honor April 15, the day we all recognize as Tax Day under normal circumstances, by discussing taxation authority in Indian Country.
Every government relies on tax revenues to fund the essential programs, services, and functions that benefit us all. The power to tax is an inherent right of self-government and is one of many rights retained by tribal nations.
On March 27, 2020, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) a $2.2 trillion package that includes direct financial assistance to many families, unemployment support, necessary resources to address impending fiscal cliffs faced by state and local governments, and more.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides important expansions to the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program to help relieve some of the economic decline caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unemployment has risen at an unprecedented rate. Nationwide, over the past two weeks, nearly 10 million people applied for UI.
In times of crisis and uncertainty, Montanans come together to take care of each other. In the last two weeks, record numbers of people have lost their jobs and are at risk of hunger.
In order to address this potential crisis, Montana, the federal government, and local communities have taken great strides to help ensure no one goes hungry during this pandemic.
This week, Governor Bullock issued an executive order to place a moratorium on evictions in light of COVID-19. We included this recommendation in our report released earlier this week, and it is a step that many other housing advocates are calling for. With thousands of workers facing reduced hours or layoff, families are grappling with how to cover basic necessities, like food, utilities, and housing costs.
On March 23, we published a report on ways the state can help ensure no one goes hungry during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are pleased to see the Governor has taken quick action one of the items we included: to guarantee no one’s Supplemental Nutrition Access Program (SNAP) coverage will lapse during this crisis. The Federal Nutrition Service (FNS) has approved Montana’s waiver to extend household’s SNAP eligibility period.
The 2020 Census count has started, and a complete count of all Montanans is critical to ensuring the state receives its fair share of federal funds over the next ten years. Unfortunately, the youngest among us, children under five years old, are at the highest risk of being undercounted. In 2000, an undercount cost Montana nearly $21 million in lost funding for programs our children rely upon.
On March 17, we published a new report providing an overview of some of the changes the state can make to the Unemployment Insurance program to address the growing COVID-19 pandemic.
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread in the United States, it has highlighted the importance of paid sick days
On March 5-6, the State-Tribal Relations Committee (STRC) met in Helena to discuss a wide variety of topics.
To quickly recap the importance of STRC, the 2001 Montana Legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 10, which established the STRC to:
Act as a liaison with tribal governments,
Encourage state-tribal and local government-tribal cooperation,
Conduct interim studies, and
Report its activities, findings, recommendations, and any proposed legislation.
In August 2019, the STRC adopted its work plan for the interim and outlined how it will carry out its
