{"id":16209,"date":"2013-03-12T16:13:08","date_gmt":"2013-03-12T22:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/?p=16209"},"modified":"2013-03-12T16:40:05","modified_gmt":"2013-03-12T22:40:05","slug":"local-leaders-turn-out-to-oppose-business-lobby-tax-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2013\/03\/12\/local-leaders-turn-out-to-oppose-business-lobby-tax-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Leaders Turn Out To Oppose Business Lobby Tax Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_16222\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Rep. Mike Moyle asked a question of a local official from Burley, Idaho in today's public hearing.\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2013\/03\/3-12-Personal-Property-Tax-hearing.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-16222\" title=\"3-12 Personal Property Tax hearing\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2013\/03\/3-12-Personal-Property-Tax-hearing-300x147.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"147\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2013\/03\/3-12-Personal-Property-Tax-hearing-300x147.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2013\/03\/3-12-Personal-Property-Tax-hearing-620x304.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Molly Messick \/ StateImpact Idaho<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. Mike Moyle asked a question of a local official from Burley, Idaho in today&#39;s public hearing.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>At the Capitol this morning there was a long public hearing on <a title=\"What You Should Know About The Two Bills To Repeal An Idaho Business Tax\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2013\/03\/11\/what-you-should-know-about-the-two-bills-to-repeal-an-idaho-business-tax\/\">two competing bills<\/a> that address Idaho\u2019s business personal property tax. That\u2019s the state\u2019s <a title=\"The Ultimate Guide To Idaho\u2019s Personal Property Tax\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/topic\/personal-property-tax\/\">tax on business equipment and machinery<\/a>. <em>StateImpact<\/em> talked through the two proposals and today\u2019s public comment with Boise State Public Radio host Samantha Wright.<\/p>\n<p> \u00a0<!--more-->Here&#8217;s the full transcript:<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\">Q: <\/span>Molly, the personal property tax is pretty technical.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t you set us up?<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\">A: <\/span>Sure. This effort to address Idaho\u2019s <a title=\"The Ultimate Guide To Idaho\u2019s Personal Property Tax\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/topic\/personal-property-tax\/\" target=\"_blank\">business personal property tax<\/a> has been one of the most anticipated of the session. The tax applies to all sorts of business equipment, from office telephones to large machines. Its opponents call it a nuisance and they say getting rid of it will help the state\u2019s economy. But on the other hand the tax brings in about $140 million each year for local government and taxing districts. For example, if you vote in favor of a school levy, some of the money it raises comes through this tax on business personal property. So that\u2019s the real tension here. And it\u2019s a tension that we can see in the two bills that are on the table.<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\">Q: <\/span>Those two bills were introduced last week. One has the backing of the Idaho Association of Counties, and the other comes from the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry. That&#8217;s the business lobby. What can you tell us about them?<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><strong><span class=\"abbr\"><div class=\"related-content alignright\"><h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4><div class=\"links\"><h5>Posts<\/h5><ul><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/maps\/map-who-benefits-most-if-idahos-business-personal-property-tax-is-eliminated\/\">Map: Who Benefits Most If Idaho&#8217;s Business Personal Property Tax Is Eliminated<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2013\/03\/07\/counties-present-plan-to-partially-exempt-business-personal-property\/\">Counties Present Plan To Partially Exempt Business Personal Property<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2013\/03\/08\/introduction-of-iaci-personal-property-tax-bill-sets-stage-for-a-fight\/\">Introduction Of IACI Personal Property Tax Bill Sets Stage For A Fight<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2013\/03\/11\/what-you-should-know-about-the-two-bills-to-repeal-an-idaho-business-tax\/\">What You Should Know About The Two Bills To Repeal An Idaho Business Tax<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"topics\"><h5>Topics<\/h5><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/files\/2013\/01\/1-31-Diner.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/topic\/personal-property-tax\/\">The Ultimate Guide To Idaho&#8217;s Personal Property Tax<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\">A: <\/span>The bills, particularly the bill from the <a title=\"Idaho\u2019s Business Lobby: Idaho Association Of Commerce And Industry\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/topic\/idaho-association-of-commerce-and-industry\/\">Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry<\/a>, are pretty detailed. Briefly, though: the bill that\u2019s coming from groups that represent local government would exempt the first $100,000 worth of business personal property from taxation, and it would use state revenue to replace that lost local revenue. The cost of that is estimated at about $19 million.<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\">The bill from the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry is much more sweeping. It would eliminate the tax altogether between now and 2019. That will cost as much as $120 million. Again, that money would come from the state general fund, so there is replacement money. IACI represents a lot of the state\u2019s large businesses. We know their bill has the support of some big players, including <a title=\"Micron Technology Is One Big Idaho Business Behind Personal Property Tax Repeal\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/2013\/01\/24\/micron-technology-is-one-big-idaho-business-behind-personal-property-tax-repeal\/\" target=\"_blank\">Micron Technology<\/a> and Idaho Power.<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\">Q: <\/span>That brings us to today\u2019s testimony. Tell us about it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\">A: <\/span>The two bills are now in the Rev and Tax Committee. We knew at the outset that the committee wouldn\u2019t vote today, so this was really intended to be an opportunity for the public to weigh in. The first person to testify was Department of Commerce Director Jeff Sayer. He was there to make a strong push for the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry bill.<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><em>Jeff Sayer: &#8220;We are in full support of eliminating this tax.\u00a0 We need to find and drive our operating costs for our businesses down to the lowest point we can possibly get them, and eliminating this tax helps us get there.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\">Q: <\/span>So he\u2019s saying this will help the state recruit businesses?<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\">A: <\/span>That\u2019s right. And of course the Commerce director\u2019s opinion carries weight. But Sayer was in the minority. Several people who work in local economic development testified that cuts to local services and schools would make it very hard for them to recruit new employers to their communities. Many local officials believe that a full exemption will result in local cuts, even though the IACI bill calls for replacement revenue. That\u2019s because the full exemption limits the tax base they have going forward.<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\">Overall, there were more people who turned out in favor the bill that <em>partially<\/em> eliminates the personal property tax. Many of them traveled quite a distance to testify.\u00a0 One of them was Molly Stein. She&#8217;s the superintendent of the Soda Springs School District, and here\u2019s a little of what she had to say.<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><em>Molly Stein: &#8220;In our efforts to remain fiscally solvent, we have closed an elementary school, a one-room school house, and our alternative school.\u00a0 We have moved to a four-day schedule, had a failed consolidation effort, and reduced salaries.\u00a0 We have had every aspect of our system audited for efficiencies.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\">So she\u2019s talking about the budget problems her school has faced based on cutbacks in state funding. She went on to point out that almost half of the levy funding her district receives comes from the personal property tax. She said several times that eliminating the tax would be devastating.<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\">Q: <\/span>Today\u2019s hearing went on for several hours, but as you said, the committee didn\u2019t vote. What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\">A: <\/span>Rev and Tax Chairman Gary Collins says they\u2019ll wrap up the remaining public testimony first thing tomorrow, but they won\u2019t do anything more on the bills then. The big meeting, it sounds like, will be on Thursday morning. The committee could vote at that time. Remember, we\u2019re still in the early stages of this process. The bills are in committee. After that, the hurdles are the full House and the Senate. And lawmakers are trying to finish the session by the end of this month, so the clock is ticking.<\/p>\n<p class=\"question\"><span class=\"abbr\">Q: <\/span>Molly, thanks for joining us.<\/p>\n<p class=\"answer\"><span class=\"abbr\">A: <\/span>You\u2019re very welcome, Sam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the Capitol this morning there was a long public hearing on two competing bills that address Idaho\u2019s business personal property tax. That\u2019s the state\u2019s tax on business equipment and machinery. StateImpact talked through the two proposals and today\u2019s public comment with Boise State Public Radio host Samantha Wright. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":16222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[210,214],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16209"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/idaho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}