Risch Got Tax Shift, Otter Got Shaft

Why is Gov. C. L. (Butch) Otter taking ownership for one of his predecessor’s worst foul-ups? Responding to a series of editorials, Otter - joined by House Speaker Lawerence Denney, R-Midvale and Senate President Robert Geddes, R-Soda Springs — recently rejected out of hand any attempt to repeal the 2006 measure that removed the last vestige of basic public school support from the property tax and replaced it with a one-cent rate hike in the sales tax. “The vast majority of Idahoans supported that change and with good reason,” the GOP trio wrote in an op-ed column that appeared Sunday in the Tribune. “Now with property values down along with the economy, reversing it would shortchange schools and impose a crushing burden on local property taxpayers who already are struggling at a time that we’re trying to revive - not suffocate - Idaho’s economy.” Otter’s being too generous. Much of the budget grief he’s now enduring stems from that 2006 tax shift. And the governor responsible isn’t Otter. His name is Jim Risch/ Marty Trillhaase , Lewiston Tribune. More here

Q uestion: Do you agree with Opinion Editor Marty Trillhaase that the move in special session by former Gov. Jim Risch to shift school maintenance & operations from the property tax to the sales tax is fueling the economic mess in the state today?