So the legislature passed a
property tax relief bill this
past legislative session,
something that was very
important to a lot of people,
but it won't be the same for everyone.
Lawmakers estimate could bring anywhere
for homeowners 10 to 25% savings,
but that will be 100% based
on where you live.
Joe Paris sat down with the
man who pushed this property
package through House Speaker
Mike Boyle to find out more about
the factors that will determine
whatever relief you receive.
Start where at all with property tax,
where we should start every conversation.
The state of Idaho does not
collect or spend property taxes.
That's all done by locally elected people.
Your school, your your county commissioners,
your City Councilman, your City Councilman.
Set those budgets.
Your Fire Commissioner set all those budgets
and money are spent at the local level.
And when they make budgets bigger than
the year before, you know all the other
ancillary weird stuff out of the way,
you're going to pay more in property taxes.
So the key is.
Cut the spending, right.
So this bill doesn't cut spending.
This bill just subsidizes those locals.
And So what it does is it takes the
first year 205 million plus surplus
Eliminator if there's surplus of
another 150 million and sends it
back to the local districts, Hwy.
counties actually.
And then they lower your property
taxes with part of it.
Half the other half goes to the schools
to pay for bonds and supplementals.
So basically we're doing is we took some of
your sales tax money you've been paying.
And we're sending it back to the
locals and we're asking them to,
to use that money to cut your property taxes.
Is it fair to frame it
saying that the legislature,
you know, half of this money,
the legislature says, OK,
we're going to cover your property
taxes at the county level.
Is that too simple?
Well, it's too simple.
The best way to put it is we're,
we're saying here's several $100 million,
we're sending it back to the local
and we're saying cut your taxes now
they could raise their budgets this
year and consume all that tax relief.
Nobody's really talked about that
because they have that option.
They can raise their budgets and if they do,
you won't see as much property tax relief.
So we're hoping that in conjunction
with the legislature,
this hundreds of 1,000,000 that
we're going to send back this year
in property tax relief goes to
the property taxpayers and that
those local taxing districts will
also do the right thing and trim
their budgets to help offset any
possible increase in property taxes.
Also,
I know we've heard from lawmakers that,
you know, individual Idahoans
should expect their property
tax to drop from 10 to 25%.
Because what's that range and
what's the factors? It just it
could be less or more depends
on where you're at it.
It really depends on what the locals
decide to do with their budgets.
One where you're at how much property
tax you're paying because the the
one portion of the homeowner's side,
you know puts more money on those
paying more taxes and on and what
school districts you're in because
on the school side it goes back to
whether you have a bond in supplemental.
So so there's so many pieces
in it and it's complicated.
But yeah, the local decisions and then
you will have relief if you've got a bond,
you'll have relief if
you've got a supplemental.
And you'll have relief if you're a homeowner.
It seems
like the message I'm getting from
this interview is people should get
involved at the local level and
go see what the budgets look like.
Go look how many of the people listening
us to now today realize that 16,
1/2% of all the sales tax the state
collects goes back to the locals?
How many of you knew that?
How many of you know that the majority of
the alcohol tax goes back to the locals?
All those programs were set up to
provide tax relief, by the way.
The revenue sharing was to provide
personal property tax relief.
All those monies that go back were set up.
And that number, by the way,
last year statewide grew
by almost $75 million.
Yet none of it was used for property
tax relief that I'm aware of. So
the legislature is basically saying
here's a check to do the right thing.
We're hoping you do.
But I mean, there's nothing that
makes them do the right thing.
You hit it on the head and I think
you're going to see some do the right
thing and you're going to see some
substantial property tax relief.
But I think you'll see some try to
hide it and say the states send
them that property tax relief.
So let's make our budgets a little higher,
take as much as we can.
So I think you'll see both.
So as I had a conversation with
Speaker Moyle, real take away was
you should probably be paying
attention locally what's going on.
And Brian, it starts a whole conversation
about what does the community want?
What do they think is necessary?
Of course, we heard, for example,
from the quarterly in school district
they were going to say, you know,
if our bonds and levies didn't pass,
you know, school sports,
we won't be able to pay for them.
Those are the type of sacrifices that
Speaker Moyle's talking about when
local governments are budgeting. At
some point will be able to talk to
a county government and hopefully
going to break it down even further
for you this summer on the Two O 8,
we'll try to do that.
All right. Thanks, Joe.