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<div>As printed in today's Daily News. The county commissioner's
selected Pat Vaughan to serve out Steve Fiscus' term as assessor. Pat
has said he will run for election in his own right in 2006.</div>
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<div>Mark Solomon</div>
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<div><font color="#000000"><b>It's the Legislature that raises
taxes<br>
<br>
<br>
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</b> Latah Republican Chairman Barrett Shroeder would have you
believe that a Democratic county assessor will raise your property
taxes (Daily News, May 4).<br>
<br>
Shame on you, Barrett, for deliberately misleading people.
Assessors follow very strict rules established by the Idaho State Tax
Commission under the authority granted by the Legislature. Assessments
are not taxes. There are only two bodies that can raise property
taxes: local taxing districts that are, by law enacted by the
Legislature, forced to rely on the property tax and the Legislature
itself as it sets the rules for taxation.<br>
<br>
By far the largest effect on our local property taxes is at the
legislative level. It's the Republican dominated Legislature that
dismantled the voter initiative capping property taxes at 1 percent of
assessed value. It's the Republican Legislature that shifts more and
more of the property tax burden to the homeowner and away from
industry, ag and timber. It's the Republican Legislature that makes
homeowners pay 62 percent of all property taxes, up from 47 percent in
1990. It's the Republican Legislature that every year refuses to allow
local-option sales tax to replace property tax burdens.<br>
<br>
It's the Republican Legislature that gave away millions of
dollars in property tax breaks to Micron and real estate developers
but refused to increase the 50-50 homeowners exemption. It's the
Republican Legislature that forces school districts, cities and
counties to raise property taxes to make up the artificial shortfall
in state support for public schools and other programs that the
Legislature creates with its never ending tax breaks for everybody but
the homeowner. It's the Republican Legislature that is giving
homeowners the property tax shaft, not any county assessor of any
political party.<br>
<br>
No, Barrett, the Democratic county assessor can't raise property
taxes but the Republican majority in the Legislature can, does and
will.</font><br>
<font color="#000000"></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"> Mark Solomon</font></div>
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