Elected officials, unions, the Chamber of Commerce, and a whole host of other groups oppose the move to eliminate the property tax in ND, which brings in about $800 million annually - mostly to fund education statewide. That’s a huge amount that would have to be filled by other sources.

The proponents of the measure claim that the oil/gas boom is sufficient to cover the costs and that property taxes should be eliminated as a result.

Where there’s a boom there’s usually a bust not long after that. It might make more sense to reduce the property taxes, or to address the surplus resulting from the severance and mineral taxes (for taking the oil/gas/minerals from the ground) by putting them towards reducing the tax burden on a provisional basis, investing it in new/rehabilitated infrastructure, or putting it in a rainy day fund.

Eliminating the tax completely is done infrequently. The last time was in 1980 or so when Alaska eliminated the personal income tax.