House panel kills 3 tax bills

HELENA - The House Taxation Committee killed three tax plans today on the eve of the Legislature's deadline for new revenue bills.

A plan to ask voters if they want to replace the income tax with a sales tax, an increase on gambling machine taxes, and a tax credit for prescription drugs bought by elderly people were all tabled by the panel.

House Bills 771 and 772 would have asked voters to consider repealing the state income tax, and would have told lawmakers to replace the revenue with a sales tax if the ballot measure passed.

Opponents worried it was too speculative to ask voters to make su...