Report: Montana has shaky balance between tax revenue, spending

Montana is one of 21 states facing a significant risk of government financial problems where tax collections fail to keep up with government’s growing appetite for money, a new study has concluded.

Increasing demands from an aging population and schools, coupled with tax policy changes that threaten stable revenue supplies, put Montana on a likely course for a structural deficit where expenses routinely exceed available money, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said in a report issued this week.

Montana is not alone in some of the financial troubles found in the study, said Robert Zahradnik, a senior policy analyst for the center and an author of the report.

‘‘Some of Montana’s tax policy in recent years shifts the mix of taxes from those that grow with the economy to those that grow slowly over time,” he said Wednesday.

By Bob Anez of The Associated Press

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