|
Regarding Average Idaho, Education & Property Tax Relief
I don’t want to hear it!
Yesterday Idaho voted 3-to-1 in support of paying big business (special interest) and rich out-of-state land owners while declining to support the best interest of our children through increased funding for our educational system trough Prop 1. While a wave of change washed over the entire country, Idaho voted for the status quo which does not represent the best interest of average Idahoans.
In August 2006 Idaho Governor James Risch called a special session of the legislature to consider the Property Tax Relief Act of 2006. This act, RS16445, eliminates a 3 million dollar education maintenance and operation levy on Idaho real property, to reduce property taxes by $260 million. The lion share of this money goes to big business (special interest) and rich out-of-state land owners. RS16445 has already resulted in raising our sales tax rate by 20 percent from 5% to 6% to presumably generate approximately $210 million for education annually. The additional money necessary, approximately $100 million will be made up from the Idaho State budget surplus. Here’s a question, what if there’s no surplus next year or the year after? Who will pay the additional money?
This sales tax increase negates a large portion, if not all, of the property tax relief for most Idaho families. Lower and middle income citizens are hit the hardest and it will decrease the competitiveness of small business. The advisory vote yesterday took place one month after the new sales tax went into effect and had no provision (teeth) to potentially repeal the new tax increase.
Although far from completely thought through (in my opinion) Democrat members of the Idaho legislature had proposed an alternative, RS16446 that would exempt Idaho homeowners (residence plus one acre) from the school tax levy. This proposal also relied on an annual supplement from the state surplus (again: what if…). Businesses, commercial property, agricultural land and vacation home owners would continue to pay the rising costs of the educational maintenance and operation levy. RS16446 would have immediately decreased resident homeowner property tax without increasing sales taxes on all of us and would have returned a portion of the $203 million state surplus to Idaho taxpayers rather than providing yet another hand-out to big business (special interest) and rich out-of-state land owners.
Please note that, on a National scale the Federal Government continues to subsidize the oil industry with billions of tax-payer dollars regardless of the fact that these same oil companies have been allowed to gouge the American public to the tune of tens-of-billions per quarter… This same strategy is employed on this property tax issue. We pay twice.
RS16446 was never even considered during the August 2006 Special Session! Governor James Risch refused to allow it to be debated or even presented. Only RS16445 was subject to the vote that day and as a result average Idahoans are now digging deeper into their pockets so that the rich and get richer!
So, as stated in opening “I don’t want to hear it”! I don’t want to hear about your financial woes, I don’t want to hear about lay-off’s and slow downs at the job, lack of benefits or health insurance. I don’t want to hear about rich out-of-stater’s driving up property taxes and forcing you to sell out and become renters or about how Idaho’s educational system ranks 45th out of 50 in the U.S. etc., etc., etc. Because Idahoans once again allowed big business (special interest), through their proxies in our state government and rich out-of-state land owners to reach into our pockets and take more of our hard earned dollars to pay for their vacation homes, fuel their yachts and private jets while our kids watch from the docks and swim in herbicide.
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
