Posted on 03/06/2022 3:23:11 PM PST by mac_truck
BOISE, Idaho — A House committee on Friday introduced sweeping tax legislation that would raise Idaho’s sales tax to the highest in the nation while eliminating most property taxes on owner-occupied homes.
The House Revenue and Taxation Committee approved a possible hearing on the bill that also uses some of the increased sales tax money to raise the grocery sales tax credit from $100 to $175.
The move will bump Idaho’s sales tax from 6% to 7.85%, the highest in the nation, according to the nonprofit Tax Foundation group that analyzes tax policy. California currently has the highest sales tax at 7.25%.
City and county taxes would be eliminated on primary residences in Idaho, but voter approved bonds and school levies would remain.
“The beauty of this is you’re taking a narrow tax and you’re replacing it with the broadest possible tax,” said Republican Sen. Jim Rice. “So people that don’t live in the state of Idaho that come visit in our state, vacation here, drive through, will help pay for the services that they get the benefit of in our state.”
Many lawmakers appeared to have a hard time digesting the 41-page bill.
“Everything on this looks good, sounds good, but I just have this niggling feeling that it may not be as good as it all looks,” said Republican Rep. Linda Hartgen.
(Excerpt) Read more at oregonlive.com ...
“That’s what most of my property tax is.”
By what percentage?
For reference, In CA I’m paying 1.24% of my assessed value; the 0.24% are the bonds, etc.
What’s that look like on your bill?
For all that we’ve got no annual reassessment, I actually think getting rid of Property Tax altogether is a righteous thing to do; while it elevates daily costs, it only does so by a percentage of spending. Getting rid of 1.5% of hundreds vs adding 7.85% of annual consumption means grandma and grandpa won’t get run outta their house for a delinquent Property Tax bill. Ever.
That’s a righteous victory, if you ask me.
Please describe Your plan to replace the revenue lost from property tax...
“Getting rid of 1.5% of hundreds” of thousands...
“Its going to stifle purchases as well.”
I dunno... NOT having to pay 1.5% per year on your $300,000 assessed Real Estate value means you’d have to buy over $57,000 in goods before your 7.85% sales tax would cost you the same amount, and in most states with sales tax, groceries are excluded.
Or controlling fraud and eliminating waste?
Time to go back to limited government. When 50% or more of our earnings go to government, it’s no longer a tax its slavery lite. First off, property taxes should be abolished along with government propaganda centers aka schools. FICA should also be abolished as it was never meant to be as it is... Idiot Woodrow Wilson implemented that crap. A flat state tax and a sales tax should be all we pay. The rest is theft...
“The wealthy will love it since sales taxes are such a low percentage of taxes they pay.
The working class and poor will be ravaged”
That is why government loves regressive taxes—there are a lot more middle class and poor people than there are wealthy people.
In the current economic environment there will be even more poor people.
Sin taxes are an excellent example of how this works.
Licenses and fees are another example.
Are groceries subject to sales tax in Idaho or Texas. (I departed Ft. Hood 40 years ago and haven’t been back since.)
You made me look. The school and bonds are about 43%, so not most, but way more than what your saying. Of course, there’s no stopping the public school rape of the taxpayer in the future, either so if there were any relief, it would be brief.
Here’s why they probably won’t, as won’t they crooks on Georgia.
They will no longer be able to make arbitrary decisions on your homes “value” when they need money and tell you that your home amazingly increased in value by 30% in one year.
Isn’t this nothing more than the National Sales tax or Ck sumptuous tax that has been talked about for years? The city councils and county commissions give up lots of power or have it taken from them, with a move like this. Which is a good thing.
To be clear, the extras are .24% out of the total, which is 1.24%; so that means the bonds, etc are about 19% of my total Property Tax bill.
In CA, you’re likely to have an assessed value in the $750k realm, which gets you two installments of $4650; on by November, and one by April — $9300 total.
You saving grace is you are not reassessed annually.
However, if that were taken in Sales Tax, not Property Tax, you wouldn’t pay that much tax unless you spent over $100,000 on goods and services; and groceries aren’t taxed.
But that tradeoff will never happen in CA, because it’s far too late; government is happily “double dipping” — collecting BOTH Sales AND Property Tax.
Whatever may come of this move in Idaho, at the very least, residents are paying ONLY ONE form of tax; NOT TWO.
THAT’S A WIN, because there’s only one number for the State and local municipalities to jigger with, and it’s a highly visible number, and therefore easy to hold elected officials accountable for changing it.
Beyond that “maintenance,” it falls to Idahoans only to PREVENT Property Tax from being reinstated unless Sales Tax is, once again, eliminated. THAT’S the hill you die on.
When renters are figured into the increased sales tax the state will pull in more money than before.
9%+ in Washington. Sales tax on non grocery items is a great way to raise money for State government. There really is nothing fairer.
California Prop 13. Howard Jarvis 1978. Drastically reduced property taxes. Left had a cow over people registering to vote for the first time. Initiative done from the bottom up. No property taxes on one’s first home would work. Poor don’t pay taxes. Is it fair?
7.85% is not the highest sales tax in the nation. Not by a long shot. Several states in the 9s.
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