AG: ND property tax abolition would be retroactive

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem says if North Dakota voters approve a proposal to abolish property taxes, it will take effect retroactively.

North Dakotans will be voting on the constitutional amendment in June. If it's approved, the amendment will take effect six months earlier, on Jan. 1.

Approval of the amendment may force local governments to pay property tax refunds. Stenehjem's opinion doesn't mention refunds. But it says retroactive approval is likely to cause “difficult administrative problems.”

Some supporters of the amendment say they didn't mean for it to take effect retroactively. They say the amendment was intended to go on the ballot in 2010, not 2012.

In a legal opinion on Tuesday, Stenehjem says that doesn't matter. He says the amendment itself is clear about when it takes effect.

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