Pregnancy Resource Clinics Ask For Idaho Sales Tax Exemption

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Requests for new sales tax exemptions have started to surface at the Legislature. The latest would exempt pregnancy resource clinics from sales tax. That means any purchase made by one of the non-profit clinics, wouldn’t be subject to Idaho’s 6 percent sales tax.

There is one catch, though. The pregnancy resource clinics must not provide abortion services.

Rep. Kelley Packer is a freshman Republican from McCammon. She decided to sponsor the bill after Boise’s Stanton Healthcare purchased two ultrasound machines and were charged sales tax. Their tax bill was about $6,000, according to Packer.

“Pregnancy resource clinics provide a wonderful benefit to teens and young women who find themselves in an unexpected situation,” says Packer. “Taking resources from them, in the form of taxes, creates a financial burden.”

Idaho already exempts about 75 specific uses, entities and goods from sales tax. Those range from funeral caskets and ski lifts, to food bank purchases and hospital purchases. (You can find the full list of exemptions here.)

Last year, lawmakers agreed to exempt samples of beer and wine from the sales tax. That’s an annual estimated revenue loss of $5,000. The Legislature also exempted airplane parts installed on private, out-of-state planes.

Idaho’s Department of Health and Welfare doesn’t know exactly how many pregnancy resource centers are in Idaho. But the agency estimates there are at least a dozen that don’t provide abortion services.

Bill sponsor Rep. Packer attached a $10,000 fiscal impact to the state if the measure passes. It’s expected to get a public hearing in the next couple of weeks.