Key Points

• State and local governments collected a cumulative $6.85 billion more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the last decade.
• State government own-source revenues totaled $6.04 billion more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed from FY2016 to FY2025.
• County own-source revenues totaled $520.8 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed from FY2018 to FY2024.
• Municipal own-source revenues totaled $286.6 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed from FY2018 to FY2024.
• School district per-pupil own-source revenues were $24.1 million less than inflation-paced growth from FY2015 to FY2024.

Background

All money used by state, school, or local government must eventually be paid for by the taxpayer, whether in the form of higher taxes, “non-tax” special assessments and fees, or some other more creative burden.

The rate of inflation is a benchmark that reflects the growth of family budgets. When governments grow faster than inflation, the cost of funding government rises faster than Montana families’ ability to pay through wages and economic growth, resulting in a higher effective tax burden.

Methodology

This report examines the growth of state, school, and local government budgets in Montana over approximately the last decade, measured against the rate of inflation.

Budget Measure

The report records actual own-source revenues, meaning total revenues actually imposed and collected by the government unit, for each fiscal year in the analysis. The totals exclude certain revenues to prevent double counting and focus the analysis on the growth of general government operations that Montana leaders actually exercise discretion over.

We use actual own-source revenue as the primary measure of budget growth because government budgets are ultimately funded by the revenues governments collect from taxpayers. Sustained revenue growth above inflation enables and typically leads to corresponding increases in government budgets. Revenue data also provides a cleaner, more consistent measure across years compared to appropriations/expenditure data, which we’ve noted can significantly understate the growth of government by excluding balance sheet accumulation (see The Real Growth of State Government and Addressing the State Budget Debate).

Inflation Benchmark

We use the Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U), produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as our inflation benchmark. The chained CPI is widely considered the most accurate measure of cost-of-living changes because it accounts for substitution effects in consumer behavior, producing a more conservative inflation measure than the standard CPI-U.

State Revenue Analysis

Source: State of Montana’s FY 2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Schedule A-4 “Changes in Fund Balances, Governmental Funds”. This is the state’s official audited financial reporting, prepared annually in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and audited by the Montana Legislative Audit Division.

Scope: Total governmental funds revenue, FY 2016 through FY 2025.

Includes: Tax revenue, licenses and permits, charges for services, fines and forfeits, investment earnings, securities lending, sale of documents, rentals/leases/royalties, contributions and premiums, and miscellaneous revenue.

Excludes:

–       Federal revenue and federal indirect cost recoveries

–       Grants, contracts, and donations from non-state sources (conservatively excluded)

–       All items classified as “Other Financing Sources” (includes bond proceeds, refunding bonds, transfers, and similar non-revenue financing transactions)

–       Enterprise fund revenue (automatically excluded by using Schedule A-4, which covers governmental funds only).

School Revenue Analysis

Source: The Legislative Fiscal Division’s school funding dashboard, Slide 10 “School District Revenues for Selected Funds” Budgeted-Funds View. Enrollment counts were sourced from Montana’s Office of Public Instruction’s Growth and Enhancement of Montana Students (GEMS) fall enrollment dashboard.

Scope: Total budgeted school district revenue, FY 2015 through FY 2024.

Includes: State BASE Aid, State Guaranteed Tax Base (GTB) Aid, State Transportation Aid, State Major Maintenance Aid, State Block Grants, State Advanced Opportunities funding, local district property tax, local non-property-tax revenue (charges for services, investment earnings, etc.).

Excludes:

–   Non-Budgeted Funds (includes bond proceeds, enterprise revenues, most federal revenues)

–   Interfund and Inter-District Transfers

–   Budgeted Federal Revenues

–   Debt Service (revenues used to pay off debt the district has incurred from selling bonds)

Per-pupil calculation: We divided total budgeted school revenues by enrollment for this analysis to reflect that school budgets are uniquely driven by enrollment in addition to inflation.

Local Government Revenue Analysis

Source: The Legislative Fiscal Division’s local government dashboard, Slide 3.

–   FY 24 data for Gallatin County was not displayed on the dashboard, so FY 24 was estimated by using the FY 23 growth rate.

–   FY 18-21 and FY 24 Missoula County data was not available on the dashboard, so it was sourced from the City’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports, ACFR – Statement of Revenues, Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balances — Governmental Funds.

–   FY 18-24 City of Helena data was not available on the dashboard, so it was sourced from the City’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports, ACFR – Statement of Revenues, Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balances — Governmental Funds.

–   Manual calculations for Gallatin, Missoula County, and Helena were added to the LFD aggregate totals for each year of missing data.

Scope: Total county, city, and town revenue, FY 2018 through FY 2024. The shorter window reflects when consistent statewide local government financial reporting through the LFD dashboard became available.

Includes: Special Revenue, General Fund, Capital Project Fund Type Revenues; Revenue Categories: Charges for Services, Fines and Forfeitures, Investments and Royalty Earnings, Licenses and Permits, Miscellaneous, Taxes and Assessments, and Debt Service Funds.

Excludes:

–   Debt Service Fund Revenues (revenues used to pay off debt the city/county has incurred from selling bonds)

–   Enterprise Fund Revenues

–   Intergovernmental Revenues (federal pass-throughs, state-shared revenue like Entitlement Share, and inter-local transfers)

–   Internal Services (transfers within the same local government, excluded to prevent double-counting)

–   Other Financing Sources (includes bond proceeds, asset sales, and similar non-revenue financing transactions)

Explanation of Exclusions

The exclusions described above are designed to isolate actual own-source revenues for the government unit that are fueling growth of general government operations which Montana leaders exercise discretion over:

• Federal revenue is excluded because it represents federal taxpayer money flowing into Montana, not Montana taxpayer payments to Montana government. Typically the result of federal decisions, not state or local decisions.
• Bond Proceeds and Debt Service Revenues are excluded because they represent funding solely used for financing specific projects, funding which is legally restricted to service only that purpose. Additionally, these revenues will expire once the debt repayment schedule is completed. While taxpayers are still burdened with servicing debt when the government borrows, these revenues don’t really represent the ongoing cost of funding government operations that we are measuring.
• Internal transfers and inter-fund movements are excluded to prevent the same dollar from being counted multiple times as it moves between funds within a single unit of government.
• Enterprise revenue is excluded because these are business-type activities where government charges fees for services on a cost-recovery basis (water utilities, sewer utilities, garbage collection, airports) distinct from tax-supported general government activity. Additionally, enterprise revenues already face strict statutory and accounting rule limitations on their use.

Overview

The tables below shows own-source revenue growth for the state of Montana, counties, municipalities, and school districts compared to inflation from their respective base years through the most recent available fiscal year.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cumulative inflation increase as measured by the Chained CPI was:

• 31.2% from FY2016–2025
• 22.9% from FY2018–2024
• 28.8% from FY2015–2024

Across state government, counties, and municipalities, Montana governments collectively collected an estimated $6.85 billion in actual own-source revenue more than inflation-paced growth would have required. The average county outpaced inflation by 25.1 percentage points, while the average city outpaced inflation by 26.7 percentage points. Montana school districts, measured on a per-pupil basis, fell short of inflation by 1.8 percentage points statewide, though results varied significantly by district.

State of Montana

Figure 1 shows the growth of the State of Montana actual own-source revenue from FY2016 to FY2025 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2016-FY2025, the State of Montana’s actual own-source revenue grew 77.2%, outpacing inflation by 46 percentage points. FY2025 revenues were $1.43 billion higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively the state collected $6.04 billion more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the decade.

Figure 1

Figure 2 shows the average annual actual own-source revenue growth for the State of Montana. Montana’s average annual state revenue growth has accelerated since FY2020, rising from 5.8% per year in FY2016–2019 to 7.4% per year in FY2020–2025.

Figure 2

Cities

Figure 3 shows the growth of Montana municipal actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, Montana municipal actual own-source revenue grew 49.7%, outpacing inflation by 26.7 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $97.7 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively Montana municipalities collected $286.6 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 3

Figure 4 shows average annual Montana municipal actual own-source revenue growth. Montana municipalities’ average annual revenue growth has accelerated since FY2021, from 6.2% per year in FY2018–2020 to 7.3% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 4

Big Timber

Figure 5 shows the growth of Big Timber’s actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, the City of Big Timber’s actual own-source revenue grew 39.7%, outpacing inflation by 16.8 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were around $120,000 higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively the City of Big Timber collected $670,000 more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 5

Figure 6 shows average annual Big Timber actual own-source revenue growth. Big Timber’s average annual revenue growth has slowed since FY2021, from 6.6% per year in FY2018–2020 to 5.9% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 6

Billings

Figure 7 shows the growth of Billings actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, the City of Billings’ actual own-source revenue grew 43.0%, outpacing inflation by 20.1 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $18.38 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively the City of Billings collected $30.6 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 7

Figure 8 shows average annual Billings actual own-source revenue growth. Billings’ average annual revenue growth has accelerated significantly since FY2021, from 1.6% per year in FY2018–2020 to 8.6% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 8

Bozeman

Figure 9 shows the growth of Bozeman actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, the City of Bozeman’s actual own-source revenue grew 94.2%, outpacing inflation by 71.2 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $33.06 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively the City of Bozeman collected $67.8 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 9

Figure 10 shows average annual Bozeman actual own-source revenue growth. Bozeman’s average annual revenue growth has accelerated since FY2021, from 7.4% per year in FY2018–2020 to 14.3% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 10

Ennis

Figure 11 shows the growth of Ennis’ actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, the City of Ennis’ actual own-source revenue grew 64.3%, outpacing inflation by 41.4 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were around $217,000 higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively the City of Ennis collected $572,900 more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 11

Figure 12 shows average annual Ennis actual own-source revenue growth. Ennis’ average annual revenue growth has accelerated since FY2021, from 3.7% per year in FY2018–2020 to 11.4% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 12 

Great Falls

Figure 13 shows the growth of Great Falls actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, the City of Great Falls’ actual own-source revenue grew 46.3%, outpacing inflation by 23.4 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $7.32 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively the City of Great Falls collected $28.2 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 13

Figure 14 shows average annual Great Falls actual own-source revenue growth. Great Falls’ average annual revenue growth has slowed since FY2021, from 13.8% per year in FY2018–2020 to 3.4% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 14

Hamilton

Figure 15 shows the growth of Hamilton actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, the City of Hamilton’s actual own-source revenue grew 60.2%, outpacing inflation by 37.2 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $1.3 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively the City of Hamilton collected $2.1 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 15

Figure 16 shows average annual Hamilton actual own-source revenue growth. Hamilton’s average annual revenue growth has accelerated significantly since FY2021, from -1.1% per year in FY2018–2020 to 14.2% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 16

Helena

Figure 17 shows the growth of Helena actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, the City of Helena’s actual own-source revenue grew 64.5%, outpacing inflation by 41.6 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $8.89 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively the City of Helena collected $34.9 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 17

Figure 18 shows average annual Helena actual own-source revenue growth. Helena’s average annual revenue growth has slowed since FY2021, from 14.2% per year in FY2018–2020 to 6.1% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 18

Kalispell

Figure 19 shows the growth of Kalispell actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, the City of Kalispell’s actual own-source revenue grew 30.2%, outpacing inflation by 7.3 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $1.26 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively the City of Kalispell collected $1.1 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 19

Figure 20 shows average annual Kalispell actual own-source revenue growth. Kalispell’s average annual revenue growth has accelerated since FY2021, from essentially flat at 0.03% per year in FY2018–2020 to 7.0% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 20

Missoula

Figure 21 shows the growth of Missoula actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, the City of Missoula’s actual own-source revenue grew 62.8%, outpacing inflation by 39.9 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $20.2 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively the City of Missoula collected $63.0 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 21

Figure 22 shows average annual Missoula actual own-source revenue growth. Missoula’s average annual revenue growth has accelerated since FY2021, from 7.8% per year in FY2018–2020 to 9.0% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 22

Counties

Figure 23 compares the growth in total county actual own-source revenue across Montana from FY2018 to FY2024 with inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, Montana county actual own-source revenue grew 48.0%, outpacing inflation by 25.1 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $153.49 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively Montana counties collected $520.8 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 23

Figure 24 shows average annual actual own-source revenue growth across Montana counties. The pace of county revenue growth has slowed slightly since FY2021, falling from 7.1% per year in FY2018–2020 to 6.6% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 24

Anaconda-Deer Lodge

Figure 25 shows the growth of Anaconda-Deer Lodge County actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County’s actual own-source revenue decreased by 4.5%, falling under inflation by 27.5 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $3.6 million lower than if collections had followed inflation, but cumulatively Anaconda-Deer Lodge County collected around $880,000 more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 25

Figure 26 shows average annual Anaconda-Deer Lodge County actual own-source revenue growth. Anaconda-Deer Lodge County’s average annual revenue growth has slowed since FY2021, from 1.9% per year in FY2018–2020 to 0.8% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 26

Butte-Silver Bow

Figure 27 shows the growth of Butte-Silver Bow actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, Butte-Silver Bow’s actual own-source revenue grew 33%, outpacing inflation by 10.1 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $4.02 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively Butte-Silver Bow collected $22.7 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 27

Figure 28 shows average annual Butte-Silver Bow actual own-source revenue growth. Butte-Silver Bow’s average annual revenue growth has slowed since FY2021, from 6.9% per year in FY2018–2020 to 4.0% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 28

Cascade County

Figure 29 shows the growth of Cascade County actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, the Cascade County’s actual own-source revenue grew 40.7%, outpacing inflation by 17.7 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $6.44 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively Cascade County collected $13.2 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 29

Figure 30 shows average annual Cascade County actual own-source revenue growth. Cascade County’s average annual revenue growth has been relatively stable, at 5.8% per year in FY2018–2020 and 6.1% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 30

Flathead County

Figure 31 shows the growth of Flathead County actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, the Flathead County’s actual own-source revenue grew 37.3%, outpacing inflation by 14.4 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $6.88 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively Flathead County collected $21.8 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 31

Figure 32 shows average annual Flathead County actual own-source revenue growth. Flathead County’s average annual revenue growth has slowed since FY2021, from 6.4% per year in FY2018–2020 to 5.2% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 32

Gallatin County

Figure 33 shows the growth of Gallatin County actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, the Gallatin County’s actual own-source revenue grew 73.2%, outpacing inflation by 50.3 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $21.94 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively Gallatin County collected $74.7 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 33

Figure 34 shows average annual Gallatin County actual own-source revenue growth. Gallatin County’s average annual revenue growth has accelerated since FY2021, from 9.2% per year in FY2018–2020 to 9.8% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 34

Lewis & Clark County

Figure 35 shows the growth of Lewis & Clark County actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, the Lewis & Clark County’s actual own-source revenue grew 46.6%, outpacing inflation by 23.6 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $8.48 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively Lewis & Clark County collected $23.5 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 35

Figure 36 shows average annual Lewis & Clark County actual own-source revenue growth. Lewis & Clark County’s average annual revenue growth has accelerated significantly since FY2021, from 1.5% per year in FY2018–2020 to 9.3% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 36

Madison County

Figure 37 shows the growth of Madison County actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Since FY2018, Madison County revenue grew 102.5%, outpacing inflation by 79.6 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $10.2 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively Madison County collected $25.7 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 37

Figure 38 shows average annual Madison County actual own-source revenue growth. Madison County’s average annual revenue growth has accelerated since FY2021, from 10.2% per year in FY2018–2020 to 13.8% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 38

Missoula County

Figure 39 shows the growth of Missoula County actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, the Missoula County’s actual own-source revenue grew 50.8%, outpacing inflation by 27.9 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $17.88 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively Missoula County collected $66.5 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 39

Figure 40 shows average annual Missoula County actual own-source revenue growth. Missoula County’s average annual revenue growth has accelerated since FY2021, from 6.5% per year in FY2018–2020 to 7.5% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 40

Ravalli County

Figure 41 shows the growth of Ravalli County actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, the Ravalli County’s actual own-source revenue grew 52.6%, outpacing inflation by 29.6 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $5.0 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively Ravalli County collected $13.7 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 41

Figure 42 shows average annual Ravalli County actual own-source revenue growth. Ravalli County’s average annual revenue growth has accelerated since FY2021, from 6.4% per year in FY2018–2020 to 7.9% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 42

Sweet Grass County

Figure 43 shows the growth of Sweet Grass County actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period.Between FY2018-FY2024, Sweet Grass County’s actual own-source revenue grew 68%, outpacing inflation by 45.1 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $2.3 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively Sweet Grass County collected $9.1 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 43

Figure 44 shows average annual Sweet Grass County actual own-source revenue growth. Sweet Grass County’s average annual revenue growth has accelerated since FY2021, from 7.6% per year in FY2018–2020 to 10.4% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 44

Yellowstone County

Figure 45 shows the growth of Yellowstone County actual own-source revenue from FY2018 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2018-FY2024, the Yellowstone County’s actual own-source revenue grew 48.2%, outpacing inflation by 25.2 percentage points. FY2024 revenues were $14.74 million higher than if collections had followed inflation, and cumulatively Yellowstone County collected $63.5 million more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the same time period.

Figure 45

Figure 46 shows average annual Yellowstone County actual own-source revenue growth. Yellowstone County’s average annual revenue growth has slowed since FY2021, from 9.3% per year in FY2018–2020 to 6.1% per year in FY2021–2024.

Figure 46

School Districts

Figure 47 shows the growth of Montana’s school district per-pupil revenue from FY2015 to FY2024 compared to inflation over the same period. Between FY2015-FY2024, Montana’s school district per-pupil revenue statewide grew 27.0%, falling short of inflation by 1.8 percentage points. School district per-pupil own-source revenues were $24.1 million less than what inflation-paced growth would have allowed from FY2015 to FY2024.

Figure 47

Our analysis shows school budgets have generally grown slower than other levels of Montana government. This may be surprising to Montana property taxpayers who often see school property tax levies on the ballot, but there are a few explanations:

First, as past Frontier Institute reports have documented, an increasing share of school spending is going towards facilities. A large part of school facility funding comes from debt-service on voter-approved bonds, which was excluded from our analysis, as it is for every other jurisdiction in this report. Excluding debt-related revenues decreases our documented growth rate for school revenues. Read our methodology section to understand why we excluded debt-service from this analysis.

Next is that even though school budgets may have grown slower than other levels of government, rising property values may still be driving up property tax bills for many individual taxpayers, a majority of which goes to fund schools. This may add to a public perception that school budgets are growing faster than other levels of government.

Finally, schools are the only unit of government in Montana with a formulaic budget cap enshrined into state law. The data from our analysis shows this type of fiscal discipline works to keep the growth of government in check. Extending similar fiscal discipline to all levels of government would produce similar results.

Figure 48 shows average annual per-pupil revenue growth for Montana school districts statewide. Average annual per-pupil revenue growth has accelerated since FY2020, from 2.4% per year in FY2015–2019 to 3.0% per year in FY2020–2024.

Figure 48

Conclusion

State and local governments collected at least $6.85 billion more than inflation-paced growth would have allowed over the last decade. Limiting governments’ budget growth, or even reducing budgets, will provide more opportunities to provide tax relief and ensure that the cost of government stays within the bounds of the average taxpayer’s ability to pay for it.