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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Collins: ‘Removes the business personal prop tax from 90% of Idaho businesses’

House Rev & Tax Chairman Gary Collins, R-Nampa, told the House, “HB 315 removes the business personal property tax from approximately 90 percent of Idaho businesses.” Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, co-sponsor with Collins on the bill, said, “This issue’s been around all session. We’ve heard a lot of pros and cons and had a lot of pressure regarding this issue. … I think it at least moves the issue toward final resolution. I think it gets us down the road toward where we want to be. … It does eliminate the tax on almost 90 percent of the businesses in the state of Idaho, it keeps our schools, counties and cities held harmless with replacement funding. I think it’s a reasonable compromise as we go down the road toward hopefully future elimination of this tax, and I hope you can support it.”

Rep. JoAn Wood, R-Rigby, asked Moyle why operating property – centrally assessed property, such as utility lines, pipelines and railroad tracks – was included, when the earlier version of the counties bill excluded that property. “The cost of adding operating property is about $500,000,” Moyle said. “It treats everyone equally.” Including that property also would make sure Idaho doesn’t get sued over treating different taxpayers differently, he said.

Rep. Cindy Agidius, R-Moscow, asked Moyle, “Just to be clear, we’re making the cities whole, the counties whole, and the school districts whole, yet we’re committing at least $20 million a year to our budgets in perpetuity?” Moyle said yes.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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