The House has voted 43-23 in favor of SB 1103, a $200,000 supplemental appropriation to the state Tax Commission that drew lots of comments in the Senate about how some view state tax auditors as unduly rigorous; the measure passed there on a close 18-16 vote.

There was less debate in the House; the only comment came from Rep. Lawerence Denney, R-Midvale, who said he was opposing the bill to send a message and read from a letter from a constituent who said auditors were harsh during an audit. Rep. Darrell Bolz, R-Caldwell, the bill’s House sponsor, told lawmakers, “There are some individuals that don’t like to pay their taxes.” He noted that in recent years, the state launched a tax compliance initiative to close the “tax gap” between taxes owed and taxes paid. “We have since then collected over $90 million of taxes that were owed to the state,” he said.

Bolz also noted that the commission had requested nearly $800,000; the $200,000 amount matches the governor’s recommendation. The bill now heads to the governor’s desk.