[Vision2020] Idaho State Tax Commission Chairman Resigns!

[Art Deco]

I hope this intensifies rather than diminishes the investigations of favoritism and unfairness of the Idaho Tax Commission practices, especially those that Shirley Ringo initially raised.

There are enough problems with the tax laws without aggravating the issues with favoritism and uneven application.

w.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Tom Hansen 
  To: Moscow Vision 2020 
  Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2011 10:29 AM
  Subject: [Vision2020] Idaho State Tax Commission Chairman Resigns!


  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

  ---------------------------------------------------------

  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.

  ---------------------------------------------------------

  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


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