Lawmakers see first bills on property tax relief

Some form of property tax relief for Idaho homeowners is expected to come out of the 2020 Legislature, but what form it will take is unknown three weeks into the session.
 State lawmakers have talked about rising property taxes way before the Legislature convened earlier this month in Boise. The  Legislature’s Property Tax Working Group has been exploring the issue for months.
 Several bills have recently been introduced in the Idaho House and Senate that tackle the issue of rising property taxes in different ways.
 A bill (HO 359) introduced by Rep. Jason Monks would raise the sales tax from 6 percent to 11 percent and use the additional revenue to do away entirely with property taxes.
 Rep. Mike Moyle’s House bill (HO 353) would cap property taxes at 3 percent per year. Another bill (HO 355) would freeze taxing districts budgets and levies for one year.
 Other lawmakers have talked about increasing the state’s homeowner’s exemption, which lawmakers capped at $100,000 in 2016, to reduce property taxes. Since then, home values in parts of the state have increased, along with property tax bills.
 State lawmaker Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale, said she thinks there will be numerous bills on property taxes to consider during the session.
 For Boyle, who represents constituents in District 9, some of the issue is about local control. The taxing districts collecting property taxes in counties add up. She has also heard some taxing districts have large reserves that could be spent down to give taxpayers a break.
 Rep. Ryan Kerby, R-New Plymouth, who also represents District 9, said sharply rising property taxes are an Ada County problem that officials there need to fix.
 He said he will not support any legislation that hamstrings the ability of rural counties to pay for necessary services. Rural counties are already tapped out when it comes to trying to pay for upkeep on roads and bridges.
 “No, I’m not going to cut their ability to tax,” he said.
 Gov. Brad Little said property taxes are not rising everywhere. Some property owners in areas of the state have actually seen property taxes go down, particularly in areas where school levies have expired.
 Little, who was in Weiser on Friday for the GOP’s Lincoln Day dinner, acknowledged rising property taxes are tough on people with fixed incomes.  
 Finding a way for the state to provide tax relief without putting a hardship on local governments is an issue.
 His budget allocates more money for teacher pay, which should, in theory, reduce the need for school districts to run supplemental levies. Homeowners should see property taxes go down as a result.
 A similar plan to reduce property taxes has been offered by Sen. Jim Rice, R-Caldwell, who has proposed raising the sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent. The additional $250 million in revenue would go to school districts, which would then not need to run supplemental levies and homeowners would see a break on property taxes.
 Little also said counties should see a “windfall” from expanded Medicaid, which will reduce the amount counties pay for indigent medical expenses. That, in turn, should reduce the amount of property taxes required.
 Washington County commissioner Kirk Chandler has expressed opposition to efforts by lawmakers to end the county’s ability to add new construction to the tax roll or use forgone taxes
 The county is already maxed out on what it can levy in taxes to pay for state-mandated services like a jail, indigent medical and public defender costs.
 A state mandate to provide indigent residents with court-appointed attorneys at all hearings has forced the county to nearly double what it budgets for public defense.
 The county was forced to increase the amount from $160,000 to $300,000 this year for public defenders.
 The ability to levy against new construction has allowed the county to keep up with budget demands and pay for the escalating cost of services, Chandler said.