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BSU Professor Emeritus Jim Weatherby, who has watched the Idaho Legislature for decades, says, “Idaho has always been very centralized in its tax decision making.” But asked if the House GOP leadership’s contention that it’s actually now willing to open the door to broad local-option sales taxes – as long as they’re by two-thirds margins in the November general election, and only by city or county – Weatherby said, “That’s such a high bar for the passage of a local-option measure that I doubt many will be enacted.” Idaho has had local-option resort city taxes since 1978, Weatherby said, with 60 percent supermajorities, rather than 66-2/3. “In fact, I see them closing the door on local option, by putting it in the constitution,” he said. “To have a two-thirds voter approval requirement for a tax that can be repealed and changed by the governing body or the electorate is really extreme.” He added, “This is really junking up the constitution with an unnecessary amendment. We’ve had 30 years history of local option in this state, validated by Supreme Court decisions. A constitutional amendment is not necessary, and the two-thirds is not consistent with our local-option history in this state, particularly with regard to cities.”
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