[Vision2020] pre-legislative newsletter from Rep. Tom Trail

[Donovan Arnold]

Ditto Wayne!
 
I am very angry that the Idaho State Legislature voted to spend $122 million in renovations for their offices creating the short fall in the coming budget.
 
If they did not spend so wastefully, Idaho would not be in this predicament..
 
More realistic then holding politicians responsible for their actions, we should find the tax dodgers, cut exemptions, and place a tax on spam, smoking, and movie/theater tickets which seem to be selling like hot cakes right now. 
 
Your Friend,
 
Donovan Arnold

--- On Wed, 1/6/10, Wayne Price <bear at moscow.com> wrote:


From: Wayne Price <bear at moscow.com>
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] pre-legislative newsletter from Rep. Tom Trail
To: ttrail at moscow.com
Cc: vision2020 at moscow.com
Date: Wednesday, January 6, 2010, 10:15 PM


Tom,

I understand that money is VERY tight, but we just spent some 122  
million dollars on the remodel of the Capital Building, that I believe  
was paid for with dollars from the "smoking tax".
Now that we have that paid for, why not use another 122 million, or  
more from that same tax to fill that 151 million dollar deficit?

i guess the problem the way I see it is that we have a great office  
building for the Legislature and Governor, and now that you have new  
offices to work in, we're being told there are cuts in services,  
programs and other reductions.

Thanks,

Wayne Price








On Jan 6, 2010, at 11:57 AM, Rep. Tom Trail wrote:

> 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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> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>               http://www.fsr.net
>          mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> =======================================================

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