420: Does it make sense to abolish property taxes?

Earlier this year a long-simmering feud between Auditor Josh Gallion, members of the Legislature, and local government officials burst into the public's eye. The dispute is over what the latter two groups say are sensationalized audits and skyrocketing audit costs.

That situation prompted lawmakers to put in place some new accountability measures for Gallion, including new legislative oversight, and an extensive performance audit of his office. Rep. Emily O'Brien, a Grand Forks Republican and one of Gallion's sharpest critics in the legislature, is now the chair of the legislative committee overseeing those initiatives.

She joined this episode of Plain Talk to discuss her expectations of Gallion, and the audit of his office.

Also on this episode, Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus discussed the potential implications of a ballot measure aimed at abolishing property taxes. "It's a big decision," he said. "It's a big bite out of the apple."

One facet of the debate that Kroshus flagged is that North Dakota has "one of the highest rental rates in the country," he said, which also means that our state has one of the lowest rates of home ownership. People who rent are less impacted, at least directly, by property taxes. How will that impact how the state votes if, and almost certainly when, this measure is put on the ballot?

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