Here’s some of the testimony thus far from this morning’s hearing on HB 463, the governor’s tax-cut bill:

Darcy James of the Idaho Interfaith Roundtable Against Hunger, said, “We are in opposition to the bill as it stands. We respectfully suggest that it has too many moving parts, and the impact of passing all of it together, as Rep. Moyle has sort of laid it out, it’s very difficult to measure the overall impact, especially on the low-income families that are at the biggest risk for food insecurity. Those are the people that we want to speak for, because they’re all at work and can’t come.”

Fred Birnbaum of the Idaho Freedom Foundation said, “By our calculations, you could add more tax relief.” He said, “Adding a child tax credit is not the best policy alternative. ... Reform would be better served by reducing the number of credits. ... Is this the best approach? No. Could we do better? Absolutely.” When Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, noted that the impact of federal tax changes would mean those with larger families in Idaho would pay more in Idaho income taxes if the state doesn’t do something to offset that, Birnbaum said, “Adding credits complicates the tax code.”

Alex LaBeau, president of the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry, said, “This is a bit more aggressive than we had even anticipated the Legislature would be able to do.” He said he believed the net reduction to the state’s coffers from the tax cut would be less than is projected, due to economic activity and job creation being spurred. “That’s going to translate back into tax revenues that the state can utilize,” LaBeau said. “This legislation is good, this legislation is taking a step in the right direction, especially on the corporate rate.”