Williston, ND Active Issues

vko · Senior Member

RE: Charging Property Taxes to workers that live in man camps.

Tesla · Veteran Member

they shouldn't be exempt,

and neither should their vehicles from being registered in the state.

and people from MT shouldn't be able to dodge our sales tax when they buy here...

that's the biggest load of bull I've seen since moving here....

are you from MT well give you a waiver on our sales tax but charge our own residents...

BALONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

carndt · Member

Here's the link to the bill...after reading it, it looks like a way for the city/county to collect extra fees other than the normal real estate tax. This would be to cover things such as the road, sewer or garbage that are normally a flat rate and not based on volume. This would help recoup that cost.

http://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/62-2011/documents/11-0296-01000.pdf

carndt · Member

I think this is more in the line of a lodging tax like you pay to stay in a hotel/motel. I'm not sure how the man camps are run, if they are like a hotel or an apartment. But currently, they don't charge the lodging tax if the stay is longer than 30 days.

Steve Powell · Guru

Confusing to me to say the least. Tax the property owner and not those that live there. Should be no different than apartments.

Steve Powell · Guru

Here's the article....

Legislators look at taxing man camps

By REBECCA BEITSCH Bismarck Tribune | Posted: Monday, January 17, 2011 3:26 pm | (8) Comments

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Some western state legislators are pushing for a way to tax man camps where many oil workers sometimes live without paying property taxes to the cities or counties.

House Speaker David Drovdal, R-Arnegard, introduced House Bill 1144 to the House Finance and Taxation Committee, which would put a 9 percent tax on the assessed value of the man camp.

“We’ve got no definition in statute so that cities and counties can get paid for providing services,” Drovdal said Monday, referring not just to utilities but also roads and emergency services. “This isn’t to gouge them (oil workers), it’s just to get them to pay the same as you or I.”

Drovdal said the bill isn’t perfect as the state not having a personal property tax makes the issue more complicated.

Ron Ness, a lobbyist for the oil industry, spoke in opposition to the bill, saying it might unfairly tax some man camps as each one is different. Ness used the example of the EOG man camp north of Stanley, which he said is self-sustained, not connected to the city’s sewer or electric lines. Rather than pay taxes, they bought the city a police car.

“We want to make sure this doesn’t become a mechanism to unfairly tax. Each city is providing a different amount of services,” Ness said, adding that he’d rather see something negotiated between a company and a community rather than have a flat tax.

The bill would allow counties to choose whether or not to impose the tax. While this raised questions of legality from some legislators, Marcy Dickerson with the tax department said the bill meets standards of equitable taxing in that many taxes are already available to counties to use or not use, so long as they don’t go above the rate established in statute.

(Reach reporter Rebecca Beitsch at 250-8255 or 223-8482 or rebecca.beitsch@bismarcktribune.com.)

Steve Powell · Guru

I guess that was my point. I don't think man camps are any different than apartments. I guess I can't say that for sure but I'd have to believe that Target Logistics, for example, owns the land they host the man camp on thus paying the property tax. How then can the state go after the renters for property tax as well?

vko · Senior Member

But the Man Camp's already Pay Per Unit to Place these on the Land -to get the Permit to place them there. Tomorrow will try find out more. This old bat is going to bed. Thank you so much Mom of Two. I did not know.

Mom Of Two · Member

If you live in an apartment you do not pay property taxes. But if you own a trailer and have it in a trailer court you do pay property taxes on the trailer.

vko · Senior Member

Steve, do people that live in apartment's, pay property tax? I do not know. Have never lived in one. I alway's thought the Property owner paid the taxes, unless otherwise specified. This article was in the Bismarck Paper. I alway's thought that the amount was based on land - house - building, etc. The article was yesterday in the Bismarck Tribune.

Steve Powell · Guru

Why are man camps considered any different than appartments? If indeed the company owners or man camp owners are paying property taxes?

vko · Senior Member

Legislators look at taxing man camps where many workers live with out paying Property Taxes to cities or counties. Dorval from Arnegard proposing 9% on assessed value of the man camp. When is ND going to quit gouging the oil workers? What do you think? Is this fair? The land owner is already paying Property tax on that land.