Emilie Ritter Saunders was StateImpact Idaho's multimedia reporter until the project merged with the Boise State Public Radio site in July 2013. She previously worked as the Capitol Bureau Chief for Montana Public Radio and was a Senior Fellow with NPR's Economic Training Project from 2009 until 2010. She graduated from the University of Montana School of Journalism in 2007.
WHEREAS, public employees at the federal, state, county and city levels dedicate their careers to public service by contributing to professional industries such as health care, education, public safety, conservation, and national defense; and Continue Reading →
Allen Brown is a single father with three teenage daughters. He lost his mill job in October, 2011.
Idaho’s economy is moving in a positive direction, but it still hasn’t made up for the jobs lost during the Great Recession.Ā Allen Brown got his layoff notice in the fall of 2011.Ā Now, at 44-years-old, he’s waiting to start a new career.Ā We check in with Brown for our continuing series Jobless In Idaho.
By the middle of February, Lewiston, Idaho resident Allen Brown had set his sights on work in the oilfields and was making plans to head to Wyoming for new job training.
Brown was laid off from the Clearwater Paper sawmill late last year.Ā After several weeks of job searching in Lewiston, Brown met with a recruiter for oil services giant Schlumberger.Ā He was promised a job as an electronic tech, commuting out of state, after his February interview. Continue Reading →
Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma and Utah are among the friendliest states for small businesses.
A new survey out today from Thumbtack.com, an online job service, and the Kauffman Foundation finds Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma and Utah are the friendliest states for small businesses.
The survey asked more than 6,000 small business owners to rank states based on ease of starting a new businesses, cost of hiring, regulatory friendliness, tax code friendliness, and publicity of training programs.Ā Most of the business owners surveyed — 90 percent — had fewer than five employees.
Thirty-seven small business owners in Idaho responded to the survey. Continue Reading →
General Fund Revenue Report / Division of Financial Management
Tax collections were slightly higher than expected for April.Ā Idaho’s general fund, the state’s main bank account, topped revenue forecasts by $500,000.
The Division of Financial Management’s monthly General Fund Revenue Report shows individual income and corporate tax collections came in 1 percent and 12 percent below the forecast. Continue Reading →
The Idaho Department of Labor reports the active grants range from about $10,000 up to nearly $6 million.Ā Businesses typically have two years to use the grant money, but Labor Department spokesman Bob Fick says contracts are often extended.
Here’s a list of the active workforce training grants: Continue Reading →
26 states, including Idaho, are not meeting any of Pew's criteria for scope or quality of evaluation.
A recent report from Pew Center on the States lists Idaho among 26 states ‘trailing behind’ when it comes to evaluating tax incentives.Ā That is, having a mechanism in place to take a closer look at the state-specific incentives and exemptions on a regular basis, and to evaluate if they’re doing what they were intended to do.Ā In most cases, that’s spurring economic growth and development.
Another study published by Good Jobs First back in 2010, found Idaho is among 13 states with a failing grade on tax incentive transparency.Ā Idaho doesn’t have a database of where tax incentives go, who gets them, and what kind of benefit (if any) a particular program has.
Both studies suggest many states aren’t where they should be and that Idaho isn’t alone. Continue Reading →
Good Jobs First is a non-partisan, non-profit government transparency advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.Ā It was founded in 1998 by Greg LeRoy, who is now executive director. LeRoy has been studying tax incentive transparency for more than two decades.Ā We recently spoke with him to learn more about what he considers ‘transparent enough,’ and what states are doing to open incentive information to the public.Ā
Q: What is transparent enough? What should people have the right to see?
A: Our position here at Good Jobs First is that tax incentives, whether they are property tax abatements or sales tax exemptions or corporate income tax credits or other types of tax based economic development subsidies, should be equally transparent.Ā None of it should be hidden from taxpayers view. Continue Reading →
Idaho dairy farmers have been struggling with high feed costs and low milk prices for years.Ā The Times-News reports dairymen in the Magic Valley are optimistic about expanding and new producers in the area, namely Chobani.
“Chobani, the Greek yogurt manufacturer that will soon begin production in Twin Falls, is the newest addition to the list of major Magic Valley milk buyers. Glanbia Foods, which is building a new headquarters and research facility in Twin Falls, and Jerome Cheese Co., which will expand its product line soon, are other large milk consumers. Continue Reading →
The state of Idaho will give up an estimated $845 million this year in the form of tax credits and exemptions.Ā And only a select few at the Idaho Tax Commission know exactly where that money goes.
Idaho’s law is pretty clear, individual and business tax information is confidential.Ā Tax returns, specifically, are confidential under federal law.Ā But some states have set up reporting requirements for businesses to disclose which state-specific incentives they’re using (think tax credits and exemptions), and how much those are worth.Ā Idaho isn’t one of those states.
“We’re not advocating the disclosure of tax returns,” says Greg LeRoy, the executive director of the non-partisan organization Good Jobs First.Ā “This is about saying, if you claim a corporate income tax credit on line 39C of your Idaho tax return, it’s no different than if the state wrote you a check.” Continue Reading →
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