In her Eye on Boise column Sunday, Betsy Russell explains how your Republican legislators might be trying to raise your property taxes by messing with the homeowners exemption:

Legislation to remove the annual inflation index from the homeowner’s exemption has cleared a Senate committee and is headed for a final vote in the full Senate. The Idaho Association of Realtors, which is pushing the bill, says having the maximum exemption indexed to the ups and downs of Idaho housing prices has led to instability and unpredictability, and meant the maximum exemption went down during the recession, when homeowners needed relief the most.

But Latah County Assessor Pat Vaughan told the Senate Tax Commission that in his county, the indexed exemption was a “very significant property tax break for homeowners” that “undoubtedly helped many homeowners be able to afford their mortgage and insurance and stay in their homes throughout the recession.” Sen. Dan Johnson, R-Lewiston, joined the committee’s two minority Democrats in opposing the bill, but it passed on a 6-3 vote. “Really what we’re talking about here … it’s a tax shift,” Johnson said. “Setting the exemption at $100,000 is not going to eliminate the tax shift. It really just comes down to whose ox is gored” Full column here.

Question: Are you paying attention to this bill? If you aren't, don't cry when your property taxes increase, courtesy of the Republican legislators who want to shift taxes from business and agriculture?

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