More people stayed in Idaho hotels, motels and campgrounds last year. That’s according to tax collection data provided by the Idaho State Tax Commission and Idaho Department of Commerce.
The state raked in more than $7 million during the last fiscal year which ended June 30. That’s an increase of almost 7 percent over fiscal year 2011.
The state keeps 2 percent of the lodging taxes paid at most hotels and campgrounds in Idaho. That money is then used for tourism promotion.
The dairy industry is the leader in Idaho's Magic Valley.
A new report from the University of Idaho touts the economic importance of agriculture in central Idaho’s Magic Valley.
Agribusiness exports directly or indirectly create a third of jobs in the six-county area, the U of I Extension analysis says. Those exports also directly or indirectly create two thirds of Magic Valley businesses’ sales, with the dairy processing industry contributing the largest share.
“Idaho is the third largest dairy state in the nation, and 70 percent of those cows are in the Magic Valley,” explains agricultural economist and report co-author Garth Taylor. Continue Reading →
If you watch much television, chances are, you’ve seen ads like this one luring people to visit Michigan…
The Pure Michigan ad campaign has been one of the most successful state tourism campaigns in the U.S. In fact, Idaho Division of Tourism director Karen Ballard says the Michigan campaign has become the poster child for the industry.
But in Idaho, where the Tourism Division’s annual budget is around $7 million, there isn’t that kind of cash to produce national television spots. Ballard says the average state tourism budget is more like $15 million. Continue Reading →
Each week we look back at the five stories that were viewed and shared the most. According to our audience, they are the five weekly must-reads. Take a look, share the links and let us know what you think.
Idaho reported job gains in construction, professional and business services, hotels and restaurant.
For the first time in almost three years, fewer than 60,000 Idahoans are out of work. That’s according to the latest jobless report by the Idaho Department of Labor. That figure doesn’t include Idahoans who’ve stopped looking for work or who are underemployed.
Idaho’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the month of June dropped one tenth of a percentage point from 7.8 to 7.7.
The Idaho state agency that monitors air and water quality has had to do more with less for a long time. Four years after the recession forced the state to slash funding for the Department of Environmental Quality, state support for the agency remains lower than it was back in 2003.
During the last legislative session, then-DEQ director Toni Hardesty told a key budget committee, “though our overall workforce is at its lowest level in over a decade, our workload definitely is not.” Continue Reading →
Six F-15C Eagle and F-15E Strike Eagles fly over the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho.
As federal lawmakers debate how to avoid falling off the looming fiscal cliff, a report commissioned for the Aerospace Industries Association shows Idaho could lose 10,411 defense-related jobs. The U.S. could face job losses totaling two million, according to the report.
Automatic budget cuts are scheduled to go into effect in January, unless lawmakers come up with a new plan.
We spoke with Stephen Berry back in March as he was searching for a job.
A report by the conservative-leaning Idaho Freedom Foundation concludes Idaho teens have fewer job opportunities because the state’s minimum wage has increased by $2.10 since 2007.
“There may well be multiple reasons why unemployment has risen so quickly among teens, but the one that cannot be overlooked is the rapid increase of the minimum wage. Between 2007 and 2009 the federal minimum wage increased from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour. This represented a 41 percent increase during a period that included the beginning of a major economic downturn. It is unsurprising that such a dramatic increase in the baseline cost of labor led to an equally dramatic decline in the demand for it. Recent research and analysis have found that in 2011 over 2,000 additional Idaho teens would have been employed if the minimum wage had not been increased.” – Idaho Freedom Foundation
Click on the image above to see the interactive map.
Republican governors are getting on-board with the online sales tax, according to a Wall Street Journalpiece out today.
In Idaho, a so-called “streamlined sales tax bill” failed last legislative session, and not for the first time. The bill was intended to create a more reliable way of collecting the state’s 6 percent sales tax on online purchases.
The WSJ article points out that online retailers have long had an advantage over their brick-and-mortar counterparts, given customers’ ability to avoid sales taxes by buying online. Continue Reading →
About StateImpact
StateImpact seeks to inform and engage local communities with broadcast and online news focused on how state government decisions affect your lives. Learn More »
