[Vision2020] Idaho State Tax Commission Chairman Resigns!

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of "Stop Unequal Taxation in Idaho" at:

http://www.sutinidaho.org/updates-news/

and the Idaho Statesman at:

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/01/08/1480556/idaho-tax-commission-chairman.html

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Idaho State Tax Commission Chairman Royce Chigbrow resigns!
BY JOHN MILLER - ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: 01/08/11

Royce Chigbrow hand-delivered a letter to Gov. Butch Otter Friday, saying
he was resigning “effective immediately” after agency employees said he
intervened in cases involving his son and a friend.

“I know there needs to be a change,” said Chigbrow, appointed by Otter in
2007.

His resignation comes a day after House Speaker Lawerence Denney said he
expected an investigation — and Ada County Prosecutor Greg Bower said his
office was looking into whether Chigbrow violated disclosure laws by
providing confidential taxpayer information to somebody who wasn’t
entitled to it. Otter accepted Chigbrow’s resignation without commenting
on the concerns raised by Tax Commission employees.

The governor and Chigbrow are longtime Republican allies: Chigbrow has
served as Otter’s campaign treasurer; now, the chairman’s son, Cordell
Chigbrow, is Otter’s gubernatorial campaign treasurer.

“Royce has been my friend and trusted adviser for a number of years. He
was kind enough to enter the arena of public service at my request, and I
applaud his hard work, knowledge and expertise in that role,” Otter said.

‘UNUSUAL FOR A COMMISSIONER’

Tax Commission employees say Chigbrow sought to assist Benton “Skip”
Hofferber, an Idaho businessman who supported Chigbrow’s unsuccessful 2006
run for state controller. Hofferber is fighting with his former employer,
Boise Food Service, after being fired in October 2009.

Employees say Chigbrow summoned them to his office to provide details of
collection actions against the company to Hofferber, though Hofferber
wasn’t entitled to it; inappropriately handled checks he’d received from
his friend at a private dining club in Boise, resulting in a Boise police
investigation; and sought to block a refund last May, after the company
brought its tax payments current.

Lynn Chenoweth, former administrator of the Tax Commission’s audits and
collections division who retired in May, said Chigbrow took an active
interest in how the agency proceeded with the Boise Food Service case.

“He would call me in a couple times a week, asking ‘Where are we at with
this?’” Chenoweth said. “If we hadn’t done anything since the last time he
had checked, he would say, ‘Why not?’ and ‘Let’s file another levy.’ We
would have on average 30,000 to 35,000 collection cases at any one time,
so to be spending that much time on one case is unusual for a
commissioner.”

The Tax Commission employees also say the chairman intervened in early
2010 on behalf of a client of his son’s Boise-based accounting firm to
reduce a monthly payment plan to remedy delinquent taxes, despite
objections of agency staff.

“Our system of taxation is not perfect, but I tried to do my best on
behalf of every Idahoan during my tenure, while treating taxpayers with
the respect, fairness and dignity they deserve,” Chigbrow told Otter in
his resignation letter.

‘FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS’

Idaho lawmakers are calling for reforms of the Tax Commission in the wake
of these concerns, and the state faces a separate, pending lawsuit
alleging that commissioners have given tax breaks to politically connected
Idaho residents.

Proposed reforms could include splitting up the duties of commissioners,
who not only oversee agency employees but also must decide tax protests,
as well as creating a professional director position to oversee the
agency.

“I do believe there are some fundamental problems within the Tax
Commission and the department itself that need to be addressed,” said
House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star. “You’ll see the Legislature look
at that this year.”

Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, said Chigbrow’s departure
now was the appropriate move.

“I think he could see that the governor and the Legislature would have a
difficult time restoring confidence in the Tax Commission while he was
still there,” Hill said.

Chigbrow’s resignation comes as Bower, the Ada County prosecutor,
scrutinizes concerns including whether Chigbrow gave confidential tax
details to Hofferber after he’d been fired.

According to Idaho law, tax commissioners are forbidden from knowingly
divulging tax information. Penalties range from fines between $100 and
$5,000, up to five years in prison, job forfeiture and a ban from public
service.

“The issues that surround the ethical piece of this and disclosure issue
remain on the table for us,” Bower told the AP on Thursday. He didn’t
immediately return a phone call on Friday.

“You don’t escape by bowing out of the scene,” said Robert Huntley, the
Boise attorney who filed this year’s lawsuit against tax commissioners
over alleged improper settlements.

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One down, five to go!

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown