[Vision2020] pre-legislative newsletter from Rep. Tom Trail
Art Deco
deco at moscow.com
Wed Jan 6 15:04:45 PST 2010
Re: [Vision2020] pre-legislative newsletter from Rep. TomI received the note below from Tom Trail. I hope he doesn't mind that I share it. I think we are in agreement on this point.
Telling citizens what tax exemptions cost them is part of a larger issue: the public's right to know. How can citizens in a representational form of government correctly decide what to communicate to their representatives or which representative to support if the are lacking access to critical information?
The cost of tax exemptions is not some super perilous information upon which the very security of our country/state rests unless it is kept secret. Their is no legitimate reason to keep this information secret -- now secret because it is impossible for citizens to find this information.
However, how much taxes each of us pay and if taxes are reasonably fair is a critical issue. And one where knowledge is crucial if we are to participate meaningfully in government.
Therefore, in my opinion, those who oppose setting up a mechanism which would allow us to see exactly what all state/federal exemptions costs individually and in total are as morally unfit to govern as those who oppose open meetings, open public/judicial records, and any other reasonable ways of the public accessing information needed so that they may better govern themselves.
Wayne A. Fox
1009 Karen Lane
PO Box 9421
Moscow, ID 83843
waf at moscow.com
208 882-7975
----- Original Message -----
From: Tom Trail
To: Art Deco
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 1:41 PM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] pre-legislative newsletter from Rep. Tom Trail
Wayne it will be like pushing a 100# boulder up a 45% grade but one must
do the best one can.
Tom
Judy,
Thank you for your comment.
I really support mandatory analyses and reporting that show what every one of the state tax exemptions cost in lost revenue. If these numbers were available, I believe that the public would more vigorously signal their legislators to do something more balanced.
As long as politicians rely on impossible to prove political/social/religious ideology to support their decisions instead of probabilities of consequences of actions, we will never have any where near a balanced tax system.
And as bad as the unbalanced state tax exemptions are, the federal tax system with its hundreds of thousands of exemptions is much worse. All of us ordinary citizens are financing much for which we receive little or nothing in benefit, but special groups/people reap billions by not having to pay taxes the rest of us have to make up.
I suspect that Representative Trail will have a difficult time persuading his fellow legislators that now is the time to reveal to the citizens what each and every exemption is costing them. I believe the reason for this is that many legislators do not want the public to have this information because it will lead to the severe mutilation of some very sacred cows.
Wayne A. Fox
1009 Karen Lane
PO Box 9421
Moscow, ID 83843
waf at moscow.com
208 882-7975
----- Original Message -----
From: JLBrown
To: 'Art Deco' ; ttrail at moscow.com ; 'Vision 2020'
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 1:37 PM
Subject: RE: [Vision2020] pre-legislative newsletter from Rep. Tom Trail
Wayne and Visionaries,
I like your idea of a reporting requirement showing how much property tax exemptions cost local tax districts-and how much they boost our individual property tax bills. Unfortunately, reducing local property tax exemptions such as those for charities and other non-profits is not going to help the state's fiscal situation. The property tax is entirely a local tax and none of those revenues goes to the state.
Re-examining the 75 exemptions in the state tax code also makes sense, and should have been done a long time ago. The idea has been around at least since 2003, with strong opposition from the House leadership, which is supposed to start tax policy. Furthermore, the bulk of those exemptions are sales tax exemptions on services, so closing those exemptions basically means raising the sales taxes that you and I pay when we have our car serviced or call a plumber-not a great idea during a recession. The Governor has also emphatically said that taxing services is not going to happen on his watch.
Idaho is in a dire situation and could do long-lasting damage to public and higher education-cuts that could hurt our young people, the state's economic future, and this county in particular for a long time to come. What is needed is a temporary revenue boost, something that can generate some dollars quickly without burdening those struggling with un-and under-employment. The best way to do that is through the income tax, and that is why Rep. Ringo and I have proposed a modest temporary income tax surcharge for the next two years or so while the recovery gathers steam.
I hope the 2010 legislature will take these issues seriously. We'll see.
Judy
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Art Deco
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 12:28 PM
To: ttrail at moscow.com; Vision 2020
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] pre-legislative newsletter from Rep. Tom Trail
Tom,
Thank you for the outline.
I especially laud your analysis of tax exemptions. I think we need to impose assessing/reporting requirements on county tax assessors so that we can know exactly how much each exemption is reducing the money otherwise available with respect to property and other taxes assessed by the county.
I especially endorse the idea that the cost to taxpayers of the exemptions to non-profits, many of which are not charities (and some of the charities are more employment opportunities for fund raisers than charities) be calculated and reported along with a calculation showing each taxpayer how much their tax bills would be reduced if non-profits were taxed.
Wayne A. Fox
1009 Karen Lane
PO Box 9421
Moscow, ID 83843
waf at moscow.com
208 882-7975
----- Original Message -----
From: Rep. Tom Trail
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 11:57 AM
Subject: [Vision2020] pre-legislative newsletter from Rep. Tom Trail
PRE-LEGISLATIVE NEWSLETTER--IDAHO LEGISLATURE 2010
Constituents:
The Idaho Legislature will open on January 11th. The Economy will
dominate what takes place this session. Idaho faces a $151 million
deficit as of July 1st. Agencies cut 4% from their budgets, but still
have a $50 hole. The Governor will outline his plans on January 11th.
Further reductions in state agency spending and consolidating some agency
programs may be some of the options that he will talk about.
1. Budget and Taxes -- There are basically four ways to balance the
budget or a combination of some of these options.
a. Cut agency budgets and programs -- this appears to be the option
that the Governor will select. Public education and Higher
Education will no doubt see further reductions. This would be one
of the few times that public education would suffer a cut. Many
quality programs from our universities and colleges will have to be
eliminated. Outstanding faculty have already left the University of
Idaho seeking more stable conditions. Further cuts in Medicaid may
occur. One has to ask the question at what point do we allow the
quality of our educational programs not to further go downhill.
b. Examine Our Tax Exemption System -- To date we have 75 tax tax
exemptions which total up to be about $1.8 billion/year. Each
exemption benefits in general a small group of citizens or an
organization. The money from the exemption does not flow into the
state general fund but, in fact, can be viewed as a cost to those
taxpayers not benefiting from the exemption.
A tax exemption is granted by the State on the basis that it
will be a benefit to the State. However, to date no system has
been set up to require the beneficiaries of an exemption to come
before the Legislature to present in a transparent and accountable way to
prove the exemption's value to the State. If an exemption was found not
to be beneficial to the State then the funds could flow to the State
general fund and be used for priority programs. I am working with several
legislators who will be proposing that we Sunset all 75 exemptions and set
up a system to evaluate all 75 exemptions on a timely basis.
c. Go After Those Who Have Not Paid Their Taxes -- The Office of
Performance Evaluation estimates that about $300 million in taxes go
unpaid each year. The IRS reports the figure to be about $350 million.
Governor Phil Batt approved hiring additional auditors back in 1996
and the returns were about one to ten. Six years the state spent
$900,000 on auditors and got back $12 million. The Tax Commission in
November outlined a strategy--with $10 million to hire 164 auditors
the return would be about $65 million--more than enough to close
budget gap. This is an initiative that I can strongly support.
d. Raise Taxes -- This will not be a popular idea among many
legislators; however, the evidence appears that the blood-letting
with a series of budget cuts already experienced by public
education, higher education, and other programs has caused
irreversible damage-- then all options should be on the table.
Tax cuts for corporations are being advocated by some Republican
legislators. I'm opposed to this legislative initiative. Idaho
has a very poor track record in granting tax breaks to lure big
corporations into the state or not to move out of the state. The case of
Micron and Albertson stand out as key examples. Cash strapped
communities across the country have a message for corporations that
promised jobs in return for big tax breaks. Many corporations and
businesses that were granted tax abatements and other incentives simply
did not deliver the promised number of jobs and other economic
enhancements. The newfound strength comes as states that have long bent
over backward to lure companies and jobs to the tune of $60 billion/year.
Agreements are now being written that will take
away the property tax break or a portion of it if the company
does not keep its promise or commitment.
2. Other--There will be many other specific legislative endeavors and
issues that will emerge during the session, but the economy is the
dominating theme at this time. Idaho's unemployment rate is about 10%
and this doesn't include those whose benefits have already run out.
Idaho has paid out as much as $16 million/week in terms of unemployment
benefits.
Please send me your comments and suggestions to Rep. Tom Trail
e-mail: ttrail at house.idaho.gov
Rep. Tom Trail
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--
Dr. Tom Trail
International Trails
1375 Mt. View Rd.
Moscow, Id. 83843
Tel: (208) 882-6077
Fax: (208) 882-0896
e mail ttrail at moscow.com
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