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<DIV><FONT size=2>Tom,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Thank you for the outline.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I especially laud your analysis of tax exemptions. I
think we need to impose assessing/reporting requirements on county tax assessors
so that we can know exactly how much each exemption is reducing the money
otherwise available with respect to property and other taxes assessed by the
county. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I especially endorse the idea that the cost to taxpayers of
the exemptions to non-profits, many of which are not charities (and some of the
charities are more employment opportunities for fund raisers than
charities) be calculated and reported along with a calculation showing each
taxpayer how much their tax bills would be reduced if non-profits were
taxed.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Wayne A. Fox<BR>1009 Karen Lane<BR>PO Box 9421<BR>Moscow,
ID 83843</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><A href="mailto:waf@moscow.com">waf@moscow.com</A><BR>208
882-7975</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=ttrail@moscow.com href="mailto:ttrail@moscow.com">Rep. Tom Trail</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, January 06, 2010 11:57
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] pre-legislative
newsletter from Rep. Tom Trail</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>PRE-LEGISLATIVE NEWSLETTER--IDAHO LEGISLATURE
2010<BR><BR>Constituents:<BR><BR>The Idaho Legislature will open on January
11th. The Economy will<BR>dominate what takes place this session.
Idaho faces a $151 million<BR>deficit as of July 1st. Agencies cut 4%
from their budgets, but still<BR>have a $50 hole. The Governor will
outline his plans on January 11th.<BR>Further reductions in state agency
spending and consolidating some agency<BR>programs may be some of the options
that he will talk about.<BR><BR> 1. Budget and Taxes -- There are
basically four ways to balance the<BR>budget or a combination of some of these
options.<BR><BR> a. Cut agency budgets and
programs -- this appears to be the option<BR>that the Governor will
select. Public education and Higher<BR>Education will no doubt see
further reductions. This would be one<BR>of the few times that public
education would suffer a cut. Many<BR>quality programs from our universities
and colleges will have to be<BR>eliminated. Outstanding faculty have
already left the University of<BR>Idaho seeking more stable conditions.
Further cuts in Medicaid may<BR>occur. One has to ask the question at
what point do we allow the<BR>quality of our educational programs not to
further go downhill.<BR><BR> b. Examine
Our Tax Exemption System -- To date we have 75 tax tax<BR>exemptions which
total up to be about $1.8 billion/year. Each<BR>exemption benefits in general
a small group of citizens or an<BR>organization. The money from the
exemption does not flow into the<BR>state general fund but, in fact, can be
viewed as a cost to those<BR>taxpayers not benefiting from the
exemption.<BR><BR> A tax
exemption is granted by the State on the basis that it<BR>will be a benefit to
the State. However, to date no system has<BR>been set up to require the
beneficiaries of an exemption to come<BR>before the Legislature to present in
a transparent and accountable way to<BR>prove the exemption's value to the
State. If an exemption was found not<BR>to be beneficial to the State
then the funds could flow to the State<BR>general fund and be used for
priority programs. I am working with several<BR>legislators who will be
proposing that we Sunset all 75 exemptions and set<BR>up a system to evaluate
all 75 exemptions on a timely basis.<BR><BR>
c. Go After Those Who Have Not Paid Their Taxes -- The Office
of<BR>Performance Evaluation estimates that about $300 million in taxes
go<BR>unpaid each year. The IRS reports the figure to be about $350
million.<BR>Governor Phil Batt approved hiring additional auditors back in
1996<BR>and the returns were about one to ten. Six years the state
spent<BR>$900,000 on auditors and got back $12 million. The Tax Commission
in<BR>November outlined a strategy--with $10 million to hire 164
auditors<BR>the return would be about $65 million--more than enough to
close<BR>budget gap. This is an initiative that I can strongly
support.<BR><BR> d. Raise Taxes
-- This will not be a popular idea among many<BR>legislators; however,
the evidence appears that the blood-letting<BR>with a series of budget cuts
already experienced by public<BR>education, higher education, and other
programs has caused<BR>irreversible damage-- then all options should be on the
table.<BR><BR> Tax cuts
for corporations are being advocated by some Republican<BR>legislators.
I'm opposed to this legislative initiative. Idaho<BR>has a very poor
track record in granting tax breaks to lure big<BR>corporations into the state
or not to move out of the state. The case of<BR>Micron and Albertson stand out
as key examples. Cash strapped<BR>communities across the country
have a message for corporations that<BR>promised jobs in return for big tax
breaks. Many corporations and<BR>businesses that were granted tax
abatements and other incentives simply<BR>did not deliver the promised number
of jobs and other economic<BR>enhancements. The newfound strength comes
as states that have long bent<BR>over backward to lure companies and jobs to
the tune of $60 billion/year. <BR>Agreements are now being written that will
take<BR>away the property tax break or a portion of it if the company<BR>does
not keep its promise or commitment.<BR><BR> 2. Other--There
will be many other specific legislative endeavors and<BR>issues that will
emerge during the session, but the economy is the<BR>dominating theme at this
time. Idaho's unemployment rate is about 10%<BR>and this doesn't
include those whose benefits have already run out.<BR>Idaho has paid out as
much as $16 million/week in terms of unemployment<BR>benefits.<BR><BR>Please
send me your comments and suggestions to Rep. Tom
Trail<BR><BR>e-mail: <A
href="mailto:ttrail@house.idaho.gov">ttrail@house.idaho.gov</A><BR><BR>Rep.
Tom
Trail<BR><BR><BR>=======================================================<BR> List
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