Molly Messick was StateImpact Idaho's broadcast reporter until May 2013. Prior to joining StateImpact and Boise State Public Radio, she was a reporter and host for Wyoming Public Radio. She is a graduate of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
The House Ways & Means Committee reportedly will meet this afternoon to consider a personal property tax bill backed by the Idaho Association of Counties. It’s a sign the bill has House Speaker Scott Bedke’s support, according to Boise State University emeritus professor and political analyst Jim Weatherby.
“It looks like they’re trying to come out with some kind of a bill this year, if they’re working through Ways & Means,” Weatherby says. “The committee is called by the Speaker. It does not meet without his approval. You’re not going to find that in the rule books anywhere, but that is in fact how it works.”
The Idaho Statesman‘s Dan Popkey writes that Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry (IACI) President Alex LaBeau was unaware of a new bill as of noon today. Â Continue Reading →
Rep. Gary Collins has served on the Revenue and Taxation Committee for 12 years.
It’s not often that reporters write about what didn’t happen. But for close observers of the 2013 session, it’s worth noting what the House Revenue and Taxation Committee did not take up this morning: legislation to repeal or scale back Idaho’s personal property tax
After the committee abandoned plans to vote on two existing bills on Thursday, the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry’s Alex LaBeau made known that he was at work on a new bill he hoped to present today. LaBeau represents many of the state’s large businesses and has consistently pushed to eliminate the tax.
Today, Chairman Gary Collins (R-Nampa) confirmed he has received a new draft bill on the issue. Continue Reading →
Rep. John Rusche (D-Lewiston) is a retired physician and former health insurance executive.
The House Health and Welfare Committee this morning voted unanimously to introduce a pair of bills that would expand Medicaid eligibility in Idaho and eliminate the state’s catastrophic health care fund.
The Medicaid expansion is a key component of the federal Affordable Care Act. Rep. Tom Loertscher (R-Iona), who presented the bills, says expanding eligibility to those who live at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level is the pragmatic course for Idaho. Continue Reading →
A harvesting combine, which is considered personal property, is tax-exempt in Idaho. A restaurant's wine glasses are taxable personal property.
The House Revenue and Taxation Committee this afternoon scrapped plans to weigh in Thursday on a pair of competing bills to repeal or partially repeal Idaho’s business personal property tax.
Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry (IACI) president Alex LaBeau, who presented the more sweeping of the two bills, confirms that he is at work on a new piece of legislation that he hopes will be introduced on Friday.
“Anything this complex, you listen to the debate and you take into account the things that were said,” LaBeau said in explaining the change of plans. “It’s just part of the process.” Continue Reading →
House Speaker Scott Bedke said Tuesday that he doesn't think there's "broad-based resolution" on how the Legislature should address the personal property tax.
UPDATE: The competing personal property tax bills that were introduced last week have both been removed from Thursday’s agenda.
Times-News reporter Melissa Davlin reports that the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry will introduce a third personal property tax bill on Friday.
Originally, committee chairman Gary Collins, R-Nampa, said he intended to hold a vote on the two bills on Thursday. Rep. Stephen Hartgen, R-Twin Falls, said he wasn’t sure why Collins didn’t put the bills on the agenda.
“My guess is there still needs to be discussion as to what amendments, if any, might be put forward,” Hartgen said. Continue Reading →
Rep. Mike Moyle asked a question of a local official from Burley, Idaho in today's public hearing.
At the Capitol this morning there was a long public hearing on two competing bills that address Idaho’s business personal property tax. That’s the state’s tax on business equipment and machinery. StateImpact talked through the two proposals and today’s public comment with Boise State Public Radio host Samantha Wright.
Competing proposals that address Idaho’s business personal property tax get a public hearing tomorrow morning. The House Revenue and Taxation Committee will hear the two bills that were introduced last week.
The first bill, which has the backing of the Idaho Association of Counties and other organizations that represent local government, would partially repeal the tax on business machinery and equipment.
The Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry's Alex LaBeau introduced a bill to phase out Idaho's personal property tax over a seven-year period.
The House Revenue and Taxation Committee voted this morning to introduce a second personal property tax bill, this one supported by the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry (IACI), which represents business interests in the state. In doing so, the committee has set itself up for big decisions about whether and how to address the increasingly controversial tax this session.
IACI’s bill would eliminate the tax on business personal property. That’s in contrast to a bill presented yesterday by the Idaho Association of Counties’ Seth Grigg. That bill would exempt the first $100,000 worth of business personal property. It would also exempt all items with a purchase price of $1,500 or less, effective January 2013. Continue Reading →
The Idaho Association of Counties' Seth Grigg presented a plan to partially exempt Idaho's tax on business personal property.
Two months to the day after the start of the 2013 legislative session, a bill to partially exempt business personal property from taxation has been introduced. A second personal property tax bill may be presented as soon as tomorrow.
The House Revenue and Taxation Committee unanimously voted to print a bill that would exempt the first $100,000 worth of taxable business personal property. That $100,000 exemption would not apply to operating property holders, like utilities and railroads, which are assessed by the Idaho State Tax Commission. The bill would also exempt all items with a purchase price of $1,500 or less, effective January 2013. Continue Reading →
StateImpact has reported on Idaho’s high rate of youth unemployment. We’ve also pointed out that unemployment rates vary according to workers’ educational backgrounds. So a post from Catherine Rampell at The New York Times‘ Economix blog that compares the unemployment rates of high-school-educated twenty-somethings to their college-educated peers caught our eye.
Rampell writes:
[T]he unemployment rate for people in their 20s with college degrees or more education was 5.7 percent (for those whose highest credential was no more than a bachelor’s, the number was 5.8 percent). Continue Reading →
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