Property Tax Bill Killed In The House

Two bills that proposed expanding the homeowners property tax exemption were killed in the House Revenue and Taxation Committee on Monday.

A third bill, which proposes to slow the increase in taxes on homes by taking inflation into account, has yet to be considered.

All three bills were sponsored by Rep. Ken Robison, D-Boise. The first two proposed extending the exemption to include residential lots. Robison was a major influence in passing the original 1983 law, which exempts from taxation 50 percent of a home, up to $50,000.

The two new bills “had a pretty heavy price tag,” said committee member Rep. Hilde Kellogg. “It was a fiscal decision…they would have tremendous effect on the counties.”

Expanding the exemption would have meant less taxable property that counties could draw money from to fund such things as schools, said Kellogg, a Post Falls Republican.

Robison’s third bill, could appear in committee as soon as the end of this week. The homeowners exemption law has not been changed since it was instituted in 1983.

“Market values of some homes have doubled, tripled or even quadrupled since 1983,” wrote Robison. , DataTimes