Matheson Leads Fight for PILT Funding

Washington D.C.—Congressman Jim Matheson is leading a bipartisan effort of Western House members calling for overturning a proposed cut to a program that compensates counties for lost tax revenues from large federal landholdings.  The federal Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program provides funding to every Utah county.

Matheson and 9 colleagues from Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming and Idaho wrote to appropriations committee leaders, asking them to restore the $34 million that the administration budget proposes to cut from PILT.

“The purpose of PILT is to establish a level playing field by making up for the tax base lost because of the high amount of federal land,” the letter states. “Nearly one out of three acres in the United States is owned by the federal government.  Fully funding the PILT program is essential to the health of our rural communities.”

Matheson said last year’s PILT payment to Utah was more than $20 million. Counties use the money to fund services such as search and rescue, law enforcement, schools, water system and road improvements.  PILT payments are calculated using a formula based on the federal acreage, population data and the Consumer Price Index.

“PILT is not just a ‘handout’ for public lands communities; it is the federal government fulfilling its obligation to the communities that host public lands,” Matheson’s letter states. “Without these funds, many rural communities would be unable to provide even the most fundamental services to both their residents and the users of federal lands.”

Matheson said last year the greatest amount of Utah’s PILT funding went to Washington, Iron, Uintah and Box Elder counties.

 

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