Power County Hospital is funded in part by taxpayer support. A good deal of those taxpayer dollars will disappear if lawmakers eliminate Idaho's business personal property tax.
This week, we’re devoting some time to understanding Idaho’s business personal property tax. Ending that tax is a priority for the governor and some of the state’s biggest businesses. But it generates millions for local government. Yesterday, we explained what the personal property tax is. Today, we go to Power County, in eastern Idaho. Local leaders say getting rid of the tax could have serious effects.
Inside an equipment room at Micron in Boise, Idaho.
Boise-based Micron and two of its subsidiaries are three of the top five business personal property tax payers in Ada County.
In 2011, Micron paid more than $2.9 million. MP Mask Technology Center, a joint venture between Micron and Photronics Inc. paid almost $1 million, and shuttered Micron joint venture Transform Holdings Inc. (Transform Solar) paid nearly $440,000.
So, Micron stands to gain the most in Ada County, and arguably the state, if Idaho lawmakers nix the personal property tax. Micron knows it. Continue Reading →
The Idaho Statesmanreports Boise Cascade LLC plans to go public after nine years as a privately-held company.
Eighty percent of Boise Cascade is held by Madison Dearborn Partners, a Chicago private-equity firm. The status change will make money for Madison Dearborn, spokesman John Sahlberg said. Continue Reading →
Debbie and Joe Giordano, of Powell's Sweet Shoppe in Boise
Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter and many of the Idaho Legislature’s Republican leaders are in agreement: something has to happen on the personal property tax this session. And by “something,” they mean a plan to get rid of it. But there’s a problem. The tax generates $140 million dollars each year for local government. In this story, we start at square one: explaining this thing called the personal property tax.
In 2011, more than 53,000 Idaho companies paid the business personal property tax. Half of those businesses paid less than $90. Who stands to benefit from getting rid of the tax? Click around the map to see the top five payers in each county. The darker a county is shaded, the more reliant it is on the personal property tax. Continue reading →
Idaho college and university presidents spent the first part of this week making their pitches to the Legislature for funding.
The common theme: as more Idahoans seek a college degree, the state needs to invest more in higher education.
Boise State president Bob Kustra told the Legislature’s budget panel, a decade ago, the university received about one-third of its budget from the state. Now, it’s closer to one-fifth. Kustra said that means the school, like many across the region, have to look for other sources of funding. He says tuition is a big component. Continue Reading →
All the drawers, shelving, and buckets that hold sweets at Powell's Candy Shoppe in Boise are taxed annually.
Over the next few days, StateImpact Idaho will roll out radio features, an interactive map, and county-by-county data on Idaho’s business personal property tax.
Why? The tax has long been loathed by some businesses and their lobbyists. The Legislature is under increasing pressure to decide how and when to repeal the tax during the current session, after taking a stab at it 2008.
So, we want to put Idaho’s personal property tax in context. Is this a tax that stifles business and burdens small mom-and-pop companies? Who pays the most? Who will benefit the if the tax is eliminated? We’ll answer many of these questions over the next few days. First, here are some personal property tax tidbits to wet your whistle: Continue Reading →
An office assistant, balancing on a stepladder to reach the top drawer of a filing cabinet
This morning, StateImpact published a report on the pay gap between men and women who work for the State of Idaho. Molly Messick joined Boise State Public Radio’s Morning Edition host Scott Graf to talk through the findings.
Q: First off, tell us a little about why you decided to look into this issue of pay equity in Idaho state government.
A: Sure. Every so often, we see reports that compare the earnings of men and women nationally and by state. In those reports, Idaho often falls at the bottom of the list in terms of the amount female workers earn compared to male workers. In September, a report based on Census data showed that women working full-time in Idaho earn about 75 cents on the dollar earned by men working full-time. Continue Reading →
Year after year, Idaho gets slapped with an unwelcome designation: It’s one of the states where women earn the least compared to men.
A recent study of the “gender wage gap” came from the National Women’s Law Center, and found the typical woman worker in Idaho earns 75.2 cents for every dollar earned by her male counterpart.
The gender wage gap has also been an issue at the top levels of state government. Last March, the Idaho Statesman found that women in Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter’s cabinet earned an average of $17,000 less than their male peers.  Following the firing of state transportation chief Pam Lowe in 2009, it was widely noted that the man who replaced her had a starting salary that was $22,000 higher. Continue Reading →
The Idaho Labor Department today released December jobless figures, showing the lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in nearly four years. December’s rate dipped to 6.6 percent, down from 6.8 percent in November.
Unlike previous monthly jobless reports, this one signals stronger hiring.
“The labor force expanded, albeit just fractionally, for the first time since last May, and job opportunities were sufficient to accommodate not only 300 new entrants to the workforce but 1,500 workers who were previously without jobs. Rate declines in recent months have been due in large part to labor force contraction.” – Idaho Labor Department Continue Reading →
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