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<DIV><FONT size=2>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.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>There are enough problems with the tax laws without
aggravating the issues with favoritism and uneven application.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>w.</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=thansen@moscow.com href="mailto:thansen@moscow.com">Tom Hansen</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Moscow Vision 2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, January 08, 2011 10:29
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] Idaho State Tax
Commission Chairman Resigns!</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Courtesy of "Stop Unequal Taxation in Idaho" at:<BR><BR><A
href="http://www.sutinidaho.org/updates-news/">http://www.sutinidaho.org/updates-news/</A><BR><BR>and
the Idaho Statesman at:<BR><BR><A
href="http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/01/08/1480556/idaho-tax-commission-chairman.html">http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/01/08/1480556/idaho-tax-commission-chairman.html</A><BR><BR>---------------------------------------------------------<BR><BR>Idaho
State Tax Commission Chairman Royce Chigbrow resigns!<BR>BY JOHN MILLER -
ASSOCIATED PRESS<BR>Published: 01/08/11<BR><BR>Royce Chigbrow hand-delivered a
letter to Gov. Butch Otter Friday, saying<BR>he was resigning "effective
immediately" after agency employees said he<BR>intervened in cases involving
his son and a friend.<BR><BR>"I know there needs to be a change," said
Chigbrow, appointed by Otter in<BR>2007.<BR><BR>His resignation comes a day
after House Speaker Lawerence Denney said he<BR>expected an investigation -
and Ada County Prosecutor Greg Bower said his<BR>office was looking into
whether Chigbrow violated disclosure laws by<BR>providing confidential
taxpayer information to somebody who wasn't<BR>entitled to it. Otter accepted
Chigbrow's resignation without commenting<BR>on the concerns raised by Tax
Commission employees.<BR><BR>The governor and Chigbrow are longtime Republican
allies: Chigbrow has<BR>served as Otter's campaign treasurer; now, the
chairman's son, Cordell<BR>Chigbrow, is Otter's gubernatorial campaign
treasurer.<BR><BR>"Royce has been my friend and trusted adviser for a number
of years. He<BR>was kind enough to enter the arena of public service at my
request, and I<BR>applaud his hard work, knowledge and expertise in that
role," Otter said.<BR><BR>'UNUSUAL FOR A COMMISSIONER'<BR><BR>Tax Commission
employees say Chigbrow sought to assist Benton "Skip"<BR>Hofferber, an Idaho
businessman who supported Chigbrow's unsuccessful 2006<BR>run for state
controller. Hofferber is fighting with his former employer,<BR>Boise Food
Service, after being fired in October 2009.<BR><BR>Employees say Chigbrow
summoned them to his office to provide details of<BR>collection actions
against the company to Hofferber, though Hofferber<BR>wasn't entitled to it;
inappropriately handled checks he'd received from<BR>his friend at a private
dining club in Boise, resulting in a Boise police<BR>investigation; and sought
to block a refund last May, after the company<BR>brought its tax payments
current.<BR><BR>Lynn Chenoweth, former administrator of the Tax Commission's
audits and<BR>collections division who retired in May, said Chigbrow took an
active<BR>interest in how the agency proceeded with the Boise Food Service
case.<BR><BR>"He would call me in a couple times a week, asking 'Where are we
at with<BR>this?'" Chenoweth said. "If we hadn't done anything since the last
time he<BR>had checked, he would say, 'Why not?' and 'Let's file another
levy.' We<BR>would have on average 30,000 to 35,000 collection cases at any
one time,<BR>so to be spending that much time on one case is unusual for
a<BR>commissioner."<BR><BR>The Tax Commission employees also say the chairman
intervened in early<BR>2010 on behalf of a client of his son's Boise-based
accounting firm to<BR>reduce a monthly payment plan to remedy delinquent
taxes, despite<BR>objections of agency staff.<BR><BR>"Our system of taxation
is not perfect, but I tried to do my best on<BR>behalf of every Idahoan during
my tenure, while treating taxpayers with<BR>the respect, fairness and dignity
they deserve," Chigbrow told Otter in<BR>his resignation
letter.<BR><BR>'FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS'<BR><BR>Idaho lawmakers are calling for
reforms of the Tax Commission in the wake<BR>of these concerns, and the state
faces a separate, pending lawsuit<BR>alleging that commissioners have given
tax breaks to politically connected<BR>Idaho residents.<BR><BR>Proposed
reforms could include splitting up the duties of commissioners,<BR>who not
only oversee agency employees but also must decide tax protests,<BR>as well as
creating a professional director position to oversee the<BR>agency.<BR><BR>"I
do believe there are some fundamental problems within the Tax<BR>Commission
and the department itself that need to be addressed," said<BR>House Majority
Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star. "You'll see the Legislature look<BR>at that this
year."<BR><BR>Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, said Chigbrow's
departure<BR>now was the appropriate move.<BR><BR>"I think he could see that
the governor and the Legislature would have a<BR>difficult time restoring
confidence in the Tax Commission while he was<BR>still there," Hill
said.<BR><BR>Chigbrow's resignation comes as Bower, the Ada County
prosecutor,<BR>scrutinizes concerns including whether Chigbrow gave
confidential tax<BR>details to Hofferber after he'd been
fired.<BR><BR>According to Idaho law, tax commissioners are forbidden from
knowingly<BR>divulging tax information. Penalties range from fines between
$100 and<BR>$5,000, up to five years in prison, job forfeiture and a ban from
public<BR>service.<BR><BR>"The issues that surround the ethical piece of this
and disclosure issue<BR>remain on the table for us," Bower told the AP on
Thursday. He didn't<BR>immediately return a phone call on Friday.<BR><BR>"You
don't escape by bowing out of the scene," said Robert Huntley, the<BR>Boise
attorney who filed this year's lawsuit against tax commissioners<BR>over
alleged improper
settlements.<BR><BR>---------------------------------------------------------<BR><BR>One
down, five to go!<BR><BR>Seeya round town, Moscow.<BR><BR>Tom
Hansen<BR>Moscow, Idaho<BR><BR>"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the
Optimist expects it to change<BR>and the Realist adjusts his sails."<BR><BR>-
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