One reason to live in Montana (wages, property taxes, living in)

[virgil tatro]

Originally Posted by Klapton

Not to nitpick, but milk is not a good thing to use in comparison, because state governments artificially fix prices. Other foods might give a more realistic market comparison.

And when government makes a state minimum price for something like milk, it is indeed a TAX. Everyone pays more because of it. Evading it is a "crime."

Does anybody know that montana does not honor the expiration date on milk from the dairy??? Montana has there own expiration date for milk... my little sister manages a convience store and just told me that they have to charge more for milk due to the fact that montanas shortened expiration date causes them to dispose of milk far before any where else, FACT Montana expiration on milk is seven days from the time it leaves the cow, every other state is fourteen days...

[ElkHunter]

Originally Posted by virgil tatro

Does anybody know that montana does not honor the expiration date on milk from the dairy??? Montana has there own expiration date for milk... my little sister manages a convience store and just told me that they have to charge more for milk due to the fact that montanas shortened expiration date causes them to dispose of milk far before any where else, FACT Montana expiration on milk is seven days from the time it leaves the cow, every other state is fourteen days...

Care to provide a link to that? Are you sure it's not just that store?

If that store is disposing of milk, then somebody is not ordering properly and restocking. Make the distributor deliver daily if need be, but don't blame it on the state.

[virgil tatro]

Originally Posted by ElkHunter

Care to provide a link to that? Are you sure it's not just that store?

If that store is disposing of milk, then somebody is not ordering properly and restocking. Make the distributor deliver daily if need be, but don't blame it on the state.

the milk is brought out of washington, montana milk is expensive, before posting this I called my sister, she said they get it out of washington almost everyone does in montana.. there are very few dairies in montana... we were signing a petition a couple months, to try and get montana to honor the actual expiration date on the milk carton... and i ask her about daily deliveries and she said they can only get it once a week... and if they bought montana milk it would be around four dollars per gallon...

[Klapton]

It is true that Montana enforces pull dates two weeks shorter than WA state. The pretense for this is safety, of course. The real reason is to exclude competition from out of state.

I dug up an old link to a story from missoulan.com, but it no-workie now... it was a couple years old.

http://missoulian.com/articles/2008/08/26/news/local/news05.txt (broken link)

[ElkHunter]

So, I guess, One reason to live in Montana is you'll never have spoiled milk.

[virgil tatro]

Originally Posted by elkhunter

so, i guess, one reason to live in montana is you'll never have spoiled milk.

lol

[mp943]

Originally Posted by Minnesconsinite

.

Since moving back to tax-paying Wisconsin, I now buy my milk at Kwik Trip - a large chain of gas stations found in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. Last gallon I bought was $2.59... no tax (I guess they don't tax milk... some items in some places they just choose not to tax.. I'm still hazy on the whole rhyme and reasoning behind what they tax and what they don't). That's regular price there all the time. And I have a milk punch card. So after so many gallons I'll get one free.
l

That's one of my biggest criticisms about sales tax -- it is so inconsistent. The rules from state to state keep changing, so it can be difficult to determine what is taxed, and at what rate. Some states tax everything evenly across the board, other places tax items at different rates. In Illinois, food is taxed around 1%, while other items will generally get taxed around 8-10% (depending on which city you are in). However, the trick is to determine what constitutes as "food". Some items, such as soda pop is considered a luxury item and not "food", so it gets taxed at the higher rate.

Plus, there are even odd laws in how ordering items on-line can get taxed. I think it depends if the company (such as CDW or Amazon) have a location in that particular state and can charge sales tax or not.

When I was in Montana last, I was tempted to pick up an iPad so I could avoid the sales tax.

[CTC]

Originally Posted by Gunluvver2

I don't live in Montana but I may make the move in the future. Currently I live in Lincoln, Nebraska but I am considering a move. A thread I started in the Nebraska Forum explains one reason why.
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Yesterday I needed to buy a Top Up card for my Virgin Mobile phone. I was in one of the local grocery stores that sells various Cell Phone minute cards. They had a Virgin Top Up card for $30/400 minutes. When I paid for it at the register instead of the usual 7% sales tax that would equal $1.40 the total was $4.18 in taxes in addition to the $30 purchase price. This is the Cell Phone use tax that our city council passed recently. Now I realize taxes are necessary but I also feel that if there is ANY way a citizen can legally avoid paying a tax he has a duty to do it.

I have friends and relatives living in Montana where there is no sales tax. I pay $30 plus taxes every month to buy Virgin Mobile Top Up cards. I can have a relative buy 12 $30 Top Up cards for me in Montana for $360 plus a $.44 stamp. Buying the same cards here In Lincoln would cost me $410.61. In other words I can save $50.61 by buying them in Montana. It pays to have friends in different places.

GL2

wow dont you think there might be better reasons from moving from NE to MT than the price of some cheezy mobile phone card???

but 50.16 savings is pretty rad!!!

[TrevorMcHenry]

Montana is definitely a personal freedom state. I miss it a lot. I wish the economy was better there, I would move back in a second. Nice to be in a place where a half hour drive from any city puts you by yourself, in the middle of wilderness or plains.

One Spring in Montana and you will find it hard to leave.

[Timberwolf232]

Interesting to think about.. Strangely I've found that gallons of milk are cheaper at certain convenience stores here than they are at the grocery. Certain types of soft drinks and such also...

As for big ticket items like that F350 Crew cab king rancher... it is nice not to have that sales tax!