Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird, pitched her bill to the House Rev & Tax Commission today for a flat $1,320 credit against property taxes for any Idaho resident who’s a 100 percent disabled veteran due to service-related injuries. After lots of questions, the committee voted to support her bill and send it to the full House with a recommendation that it “do pass.” The credit would be independent of any other credits or deductions, and disabled veterans would be eligible for it regardless of their income, Giddings said; her bill calls for the state general fund to reimburse counties for the cost of the credit, which is estimated at $1.1 million a year, including the cost to add a possible additional staffer at the state Tax Commission.

Giddings said she’s proposing the bill “as a proud veteran myself of the global war on terror and a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion,” and told the committee, “I would just humbly request your support of this bill in support of our veterans.” She estimated 1,000 to 1,500 disabled veterans likely would apply for the credit.

A surviving spouse of a disabled veteran would continue to get the credit as long as the spouse lives in the home.