<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" ><tr><td valign="top" style="font: inherit;"><DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3 face=""> JLB writes,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3 face=""></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3 face="">"Unfortunately, reducing local property tax exemptions such as those for charities and other non-profits is not going to help the state’s fiscal situation. The property tax is entirely a local tax and none of those revenues goes to the state."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3>Not true, if local governments raised revenue, that means the state could cut funding to those local governments to make up for the short fall. However, I don't think taxing churches and non-profits would raise revenue, it would just cause them to disappear. People they served would become more dependent on government assistance for food, clothing, medical, shelter and social support. But a temporary ceasing of tax exemptions on for profit businesses could generate some new monies.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3>I am not for added income tax because it hurts the working classes. We already pay half our income in taxes and fees to the government in one way or another. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3>People that work don't get nothing from the government except a bill and a nasty letter from the IRS. We don't get benefits, we don't get reduced rent, we don't even get our laundry folded or lawn mowed by the people that we keep paying 50% of our income to.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3>I tell ya, I have a half a mind to lose my job and just collect from the other workers. There is so much disinsentive to work in this country it is no wonder the unemployment is as high as it is. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3>The legislature needs to go after the tax dodgers and not after those of us that are already paying our share. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3>Your Friend,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3>Donovan Arnold</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#1f497d size=3></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR>--- On <B>Wed, 1/6/10, JLBrown <I><jlbrown@turbonet.com></I></B> wrote:<BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><BR>From: JLBrown <jlbrown@turbonet.com><BR>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] pre-legislative newsletter from Rep. Tom Trail<BR>To: "'Art Deco'" <deco@moscow.com>, ttrail@moscow.com, "'Vision 2020'" <vision2020@moscow.com><BR>Date: Wednesday, January 6, 2010, 9:37 PM<BR><BR>
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<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri', 'sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Wayne and Visionaries,</SPAN></DIV>
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<P style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 429.75pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri', 'sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt">I like your idea of a reporting requirement showing how much property tax exemptions cost local tax districts—and how much they boost our individual property tax bills. Unfortunately, reducing local property tax exemptions such as those for charities and other non-profits is not going to help the state’s fiscal situation. The property tax is entirely a local tax and none of those revenues goes to the state.</SPAN></DIV>
<P style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 429.75pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri', 'sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt"> </SPAN></DIV>
<P style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 429.75pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri', 'sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Re-examining the 75 exemptions in the state tax code also makes sense, and should have been done a long time ago. The idea has been around at least since 2003, with strong opposition from the House leadership, which is supposed to start tax policy. Furthermore, the bulk of those exemptions are sales tax exemptions on services, so closing those exemptions basically means raising the sales taxes that you and I pay when we have our car serviced or call a plumber—not a great idea during a recession. The Governor has also emphatically said that taxing services is not going to happen on his watch.</SPAN></DIV>
<P style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 429.75pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri', 'sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt"> </SPAN></DIV>
<P style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 429.75pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri', 'sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Idaho is in a dire situation and could do long-lasting damage to public and higher education—cuts that could hurt our young people, the state’s economic future, and this county in particular for a long time to come. What is needed is a temporary revenue boost, something that can generate some dollars quickly without burdening those struggling with un-and under-employment. The best way to do that is through the income tax, and that is why Rep. Ringo and I have proposed a modest temporary income tax surcharge for the next two years or so while the recovery gathers steam.</SPAN></DIV>
<P style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 429.75pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri', 'sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt"> </SPAN></DIV>
<P style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 429.75pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri', 'sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt">I hope the 2010 legislature will take these issues seriously. We’ll see..</SPAN></DIV>
<P style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 429.75pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri', 'sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt"> </SPAN></DIV>
<P style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 429.75pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri', 'sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Judy</SPAN></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma', 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">From:</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Tahoma', 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> vision2020-bounces@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Art Deco<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, January 06, 2010 12:28 PM<BR><B>To:</B> ttrail@moscow.com; Vision 2020<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] pre-legislative newsletter from Rep. Tom Trail</SPAN></DIV></DIV></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Tom,</SPAN></DIV></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Thank you for the outline.</SPAN></DIV></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">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. </SPAN></DIV></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">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.</SPAN></DIV></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Wayne A. Fox<BR>1009 Karen Lane<BR>PO Box 9421<BR>Moscow, ID 83843</SPAN></DIV></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><A href="http://us.mc447.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=waf@moscow.com" rel=nofollow target=_blank ymailto="mailto:waf@moscow.com">waf@moscow.com</A><BR>208 882-7975</SPAN></DIV></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">----- Original Message ----- </SPAN></DIV></DIV>
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<P style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4" class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">From:</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> <A title=ttrail@moscow.com href="http://us.mc447.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=ttrail@moscow.com" rel=nofollow target=_blank ymailto="mailto:ttrail@moscow.com">Rep. Tom Trail</A> </SPAN></DIV></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">To:</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com href="http://us..mc447.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=vision2020@moscow.com" rel=nofollow target=_blank ymailto="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow..com</A> </SPAN></DIV></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Sent:</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> Wednesday, January 06, 2010 11:57 AM</SPAN></DIV></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Subject:</SPAN></B><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial', 'sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"> [Vision2020] pre-legislative newsletter from Rep. Tom Trail</SPAN></DIV></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal>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="http://us.mc447.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=ttrail@house.idaho.gov" rel=nofollow target=_blank ymailto="mailto:ttrail@house.idaho.gov">ttrail@house.idaho.gov</A><BR><BR>Rep. Tom Trail<BR><BR><BR>=======================================================<BR> List services made available by First Step Internet, <BR> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <BR> <A href="http://www.fsr.net/" rel=nofollow
target=_blank>http://www.fsr.net</A> <BR> <A href="http://us.mc447.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=Vision2020@moscow.com" rel=nofollow target=_blank ymailto="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com">mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com</A><BR>=======================================================</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></DIV><BR>-----Inline Attachment Follows-----<BR><BR>
<DIV class=plainMail>=======================================================<BR>List services made available by First Step Internet, <BR>serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <BR> <A href="http://www.fsr.net/" target=_blank>http://www.fsr.net</A> <BR> mailto:<A href="http://us.mc447.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=Vision2020@moscow.com" ymailto="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com">Vision2020@moscow.com</A><BR>=======================================================</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></td></tr></table><br>