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<pre wrap=""><b><big><big>" ... and 105 lawmakers."
</big></big></b><big><font face="Comic Sans MS">My bolding and enlarging, above and below, in the news story.
Does the above mean the members of the Idaho State Senate
and the House of Representatives?
If yes, then Representatives Trail and Ringo, and Senator
Schroeder, have you received your copies?
What do you expect will be the legislative response to this?
E.g., will it be ignored?
Sam Scripter</font></big>
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<font face="Comic Sans MS"></font><br>
Tom Hansen wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:200903111553.n2BFrtYF027125@mail-gw.fsr.net"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Just a reminder for you blahg weenies that are struggling with English
comprehension . . .
Courtesy of KTVB (Boise, Idaho) at
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://tinyurl.com/CorporateTaxBreaks">http://tinyurl.com/CorporateTaxBreaks</a>
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Whistleblower: Tax Commission Gave Companies Big Breaks
John Miller
Associated Press
Updated May 28, 2008
BOISE - A veteran state Tax Commission auditor Wednesday released a 17-
page whistleblower report alleging that agency commissioners for years
have improperly settled tax protests by large corporations, saving the
companies money but shorting Idaho by millions of dollars.
Stan Howland, a corporate income tax auditor for the tax collection agency
for 28 years, said the four appointed members of the Tax Commission, as
well as the deputy attorneys general who advise them, routinely allow
largely out-of-state corporations to pay just a percentage of what they
really owe.
Then, commissioners use disclosure loopholes in the state's public records
laws to keep these decisions secret, Howland said in his report, which he
delivered to Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden <big><big><b>and
105 lawmakers. </b></big></big>
He said the practice began about 17 years ago and has continued, despite
complaints from auditors who believe it violates state law. Howland said
auditors feel undermined when companies win compromise settlements worth
hundreds of thousands of dollars - even though the auditors' objections
are proper and reflect state tax law.
"I'm hoping the Legislature will totally review all of the activities of
the Tax Commission and all of its internal control policies, or lack
thereof, and they'll address this situation," Howland told The Associated
Press in an interview, adding he's tried unsuccessfully to address the
matter internally. "I believe Idaho taxpayers are suffering because of
deals cut with large corporations."
Idaho's tax commissioners are Royce Chigbrow, an Otter appointee from
2007; Tom Katsilometes, named to the panel by then-Gov. Dirk Kempthorne in
2005; and the two longest-serving members, Severina "Sam" Haws, named by
Gov. Phil Batt in 2000 and Coleen Grant, appointed by Gov. Cecil Andrus in
1991. Commissioners serve six-year terms.
Lawmakers who oversee tax issues in Idaho said they hadn't yet seen the
report and couldn't comment.
"I'll look at it, and follow up from there," said House Revenue and
Taxation Chairman Dennis Lake, R-Blackfoot. "But as we speak, I have no
knowledge of it."
Howland contends the improprieties result when companies file an incorrect
Idaho income tax return, which is then corrected by the audit staff. When
a company formally protests, he says it's become standard practice for a
tax commissioner to offer a so-called "Confidential Compromise and Closing
Agreement" requiring them to pay only a percentage of what is really owed.
"This allows these companies to avoid paying millions of dollars of income
tax that are properly due the state of Idaho, and to do so in complete
secrecy," Howland said in his report. "The commission has settled the
majority of all multistate corporate protests over the past 17 years with
C&Cs. The commission has settled almost all multistate corporate protests
in the past year in this manner."
Howland, who said he is about 1 1/2 years from retirement and wanted to
take a stand now, contends the companies share information among
themselves about how to take advantage of this practice in Idaho. He
doesn't identify the companies in his report, saying that would violate
state law.
"The commission has operated that way for so many years, I think they just
take it for granted," Howland said. "They don't see that all of the other
taxpayers in this state are paying their full tax, and it's not fair."
--------------------------------------------------------
Seeya round town, Moscow.
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
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