Property tax slated as focus in Idaho

636ca5135eb8bGotta love Dan Foreman! He’s the real deal! 

Property tax slated as focus in Idaho

Legislators meet in Lewiston, chew on germane topics for 2023 session

Lawmakers in Idaho’s 6th and 7th Legislative Districts expect property tax relief to be a major focus during the coming 2023 legislative session.

Five of the six district representatives attended a Lewis Clark Valley Chamber of Commerce luncheon Wednesday. They all highlighted the issue homeowners are having with soaring tax bills, and said fixing the problem will be a top priority for them.

Sen. Cindy Carlson, R-Riggins, said property tax is a “huge issue” right now for the 7th District, which included Idaho and Adams counties, along with Lewiston the the southern half of Nez Perce County.

“Property taxes all went up because of the high values that people from other states think our land is worth,” she said. “I don’t have thesolution … but I think we’re going to get there. Every legislator I talk to says we have to do something about this on Day 1, because we have people who can’t pay. And with the (state budget) surplus we have now, we shouldn’t be expecting them to.”

Idaho lawmakers have been struggling to find a solution to rising property tax bills for the last several sessions. Some are quick to note that the state doesn’t levy property taxes, nor does it receive any property tax revenue. Consequently, they’re reluctant to use state tax dollars to fix the problem.

That didn’t stop Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Viola, from blaming state government.“The problem with taxation in general, and specifically with property taxes, is your government, your state government,” he said. “There’s too much of it, and it’s too expensive. And that expense is put into a tax bill that you all have to pay.”

Reps. Brandon Mitchell, R-Moscow; Charlie Shepherd, R-Pollock; and Lori McCann, R-Lewiston, also cited property tax relief as their top priorities for the 2023 session, which begins Jan. 9.

Rep. Mike Kingsley, R-Lewiston, was in Boise for another meeting and was unable to attend Wednesday’s luncheon.

Besides property tax relief, area lawmakers indicated they’ll be working on a number of issues during the session, ranging from forest health to school choice bills, election integrity and possibly local option taxation.

Foreman touched on several bills he has in the works, including a proposal to remove the “loophole” in Idaho’s abortion law that allows exceptions in the case of rape or incest.

“I’d also like to see a tax deduction of $2,000 for citizens who pay private school tuition for their kids going to K-12,” he said.

Removing legal barriers to the formation of private militias — something the Legislature tried to do during the 2022 session — is another issue Foreman plans to work on, as is prohibiting gender transition treatment for minors younger than 18 years old.

“A lot of people have approached me on this,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on with all this gender transition nonsense. Maybe it’s time people picked up that big black book (the Bible) and just browse through it a little. Our country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles of decency and morality … We need to stand on guard and honor those principles, because large parts of our country are getting away from the very things that made America unique and different.”

There were about 50 people in the audience for the luncheon. Foreman was the last of the five lawmakers at the meeting to deliver his opening remarks. Moderator Bert Sahlberg then asked if the audience had any questions, but no one did.

Spence may be contacted at [email protected] or (208) 791-9168.

https://lmtribune.com/northwest/property-tax-slated-as-focus-in-idaho/article_bacdfa66-c100-5755-8cdf-5b74cce64c90.html