Idaho
Audio: ITEP’s Carl Davis Discusses Idaho’s Regressive Tax System
January 30, 2024 • By Carl Davis
Idaho has the 36th most regressive tax system in the nation, according to a new study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The Who Pays report says that low- and middle-income families in Idaho pay more in taxes than the wealthy, and the institute also says that disparity has only gotten worse over the last five years. May Roberts, Policy Analyst at the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy, and Carl Davis, Research Director at the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy, joined Idaho Matters to break down the study.
Idaho: Who Pays? 7th Edition
January 9, 2024 • By ITEP Staff
Idaho Download PDF All figures and charts show 2024 tax law in Idaho, presented at 2023 income levels. Senior taxpayers are excluded for reasons detailed in the methodology. Our analysis includes nearly all (99.7 percent) state and local tax revenue collected in Idaho. As seen in Appendix D, recent legislative changes have increased the regressive […]
Measures on the November Ballot Could Improve or Worsen State Tax Codes
October 26, 2022 • By Jon Whiten
In a couple of weeks, voters in a handful of states will weigh in on several tax-related ballot measures that could make state tax codes more equitable and raise money for public services, or take states in the opposite direction, making tax systems less fair and draining state coffers of dollars needed to maintain critical […]
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: 2022 Special Legislative Session: Understanding Impacts of the Tax and Education Bill
September 1, 2022 • By ITEP Staff
State surpluses and strong revenue growth are leaving many states with a big opportunity this year. Idaho is no exception and is faced with options to advance policies that directly improve people’s lives in education, health care, housing, child care, transportation, and other budget areas. A 2022 Special Legislative Session bill that reduces taxes and […]
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: HB 436 Tax Cuts Benefit Wealthy Idahoans
February 7, 2022 • By ITEP Staff
The tax cuts proposed in HB 436 would benefit wealthy Idahoans the most. The bill would also collapse the state’s five tax brackets to four, and would lower the income tax rate on the wealthiest tax bracket from 6.5% to 6%. Read more
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Idaho Families Would Benefit From Move to Include More Children in State’s Child Tax Credit
February 7, 2022 • By ITEP Staff
From housing to child care, hard-working Idaho families face high costs in our growing state. Since 2018, Idaho’s tax code has supported families through the state Child Tax Credit (CTC). In the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Congress approved a temporary change to expand the definition of “child” to include 17-year-olds in tax year 2021. […]
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: House Bill 389 and Idaho’s Property Tax Circuit Breaker
May 4, 2021 • By ITEP Staff
House Bill 389 is a complicated bill that would affect many different components of the Idaho property tax statute. Revenue from property taxes, both for real property and business personal property, support local public services – such as roads, courts, and schools. Property taxes are regressive, meaning they fall harder on lower-income Idahoans than others. […]
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Analysis and Considerations Related to House Bill 380
April 26, 2021 • By ITEP Staff
The Idaho Legislature is considering a proposal that would reduce the number of income tax brackets from seven to five, cut income and corporate tax rates and provide a one-time tax rebate. HB380 is a revised version of HB332, with one significant change, the elimination of two tax brackets, which serves to make Idaho’s tax […]
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Analysis and Considerations Related to House Bill 332
March 18, 2021 • By ITEP Staff
The Idaho Legislature is considering a proposal that would cut income and corporate tax rates and provide a one-time tax rebate. Under the proposal, the tax benefits from this proposed legislation are heavily lopsided. Taking all provisions into account, households with very modest earnings would receive a $78 average tax cut, and the top 1 […]
Idaho Press: Economic Study Finds That Poor Idahoans Pay More State and Local Taxes Than Rich Ones
November 3, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
The biggest drivers of the inequality in Idaho are the sales and property taxes. In every bracket of income measured by the Institute’s report, the amount that families paid in state and excise taxes went down as their total income increased. The lowest-earning 20 percent spent twice as much of their annual income on property taxes as the highest 20 percent, with an average of 3.3 percent paid on their property compared to 1.6 percent.
Idaho Statesman: Poor Idahoans Pay Largest Share of Taxes, Study Finds
October 22, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
Low-income Idahoans were hit hardest by property and sales taxes, ITEP reported. The lowest-earning segment spent 3.3 percent of income on property tax and 6 percent of income on sales and excise taxes (the latter are sometimes known as “sin taxes”).
KTVB: Idaho Tax Analysis
October 20, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
Study finds lower income Idahoans paying higher tax rates than those with higher incomes.
Idaho: Who Pays? 6th Edition
October 17, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
According to ITEP’s Tax Inequality Index, which measures the impact of each state’s tax system on income inequality, Idaho has the 38th most unfair state and local tax system in the country. Incomes are more unequal in Idaho after state and local taxes are collected than before.
Tax Cuts 2.0 – Idaho
September 26, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
The $2 trillion 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) includes several provisions set to expire at the end of 2025. Now, GOP leaders have introduced a bill informally called “Tax Cuts 2.0” or “Tax Reform 2.0,” which would make the temporary provisions permanent. And they falsely claim that making these provisions permanent will benefit […]
Building on Momentum from Recent Years, 2018 Delivers Strengthened Tax Credits for Workers and Families
July 10, 2018 • By Aidan Davis
Despite some challenging tax policy debates, a number of which hinged on states’ responses to federal conformity, 2018 brought some positive developments for workers and their families. This post updates a mid-session trends piece on this very subject. Here’s what we have been following:
Most States Have Raised Gas Taxes in Recent Years
May 22, 2018 • By Carl Davis
An updated version of this blog was published in April 2019. State tax policy can be a contentious topic, but in recent years there has been a remarkable level of agreement on one tax in particular: the gasoline tax. Increasingly, state lawmakers are deciding that outdated gas taxes need to be raised and reformed to fund infrastructure projects that are vital to their economies.
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Idaho Primary Election Fiscal Policy Guide
May 11, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
This guide provides a brief summary of proposed tax changes put forth by the candidates. Estimates of the distributional impact on Idaho taxpayers and state revenue and provided by the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy.
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Considerations on House Bill 675
March 21, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
A proposal before the Legislature seeks to amend the child tax credit that was created through recent legislation passed by both chambers and signed by the Governor. This analysis presents the effect of the revised credit amount proposed in House Bill 675 together with the provisions of House Bill 463 on Idaho families, as enacted. […]
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Additional Analysis: Impacts of House Bill 463 Including the Pass-Through Deduction (199A) Provision
February 20, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
House Bill 463 would make substantial changes to Idaho’s tax code, in part as a response to recent federal tax cuts. The legislation would also cut Idaho’s state income tax rates for households and corporations, changing significantly the way the income tax load is carried by residents. The proposal also includes a nonrefundable state child tax credit, although this does not offset the tax increases for some Idaho families from full conformity.
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Exploring Working Family Tax Credit Options in Idaho
February 16, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
Idahoans believe that everyone should pay their fair share. But the passage of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December 2017 raised concerns about potential negative impacts on Idaho families with children. If Idaho chooses to update its tax code to align fully with the federal changes (a policy choice called ‘conformity’), an estimated 66 percent of Idaho families with 1 to 2 dependents will see a state tax increase and 80 percent of Idaho families with 3 or more dependents will see a state tax increase. To mitigate these negative impacts, Idaho lawmakers are considering the creation…
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy: Analysis of House Bill 463
February 6, 2018 • By ITEP Staff
One motivation for reducing taxes this year is to offset the increase in revenue that conformity – aligning our state tax code with recent federal changes – will bring. If Idaho chooses to conform, the state will collect additional revenue in the range of $82 million to $97.4 million. This means that some Idahoans – particularly those with multiple children - will pay more in state taxes.
State Rundown 1/12: Tax Cut Tunnel Vision Threatens to Bore State Budget Holes Even Deeper
January 12, 2018 • By .ITEP Staff
As states continue to sift through wreckage of the federal tax cut bill to try to determine how they will be affected, two things should be clear to everyone: the richest people in every state just got a massive federal tax cut, and federal funding for shared priorities like education and health care is certain to continue to decline. State leaders who care about those priorities should consider asking those wealthy beneficiaries of the federal cuts to pay more to the state in order to minimize the damage of the looming federal funding cuts, but so far policymakers in Idaho,…
How the Final GOP-Trump Tax Bill Would Affect Idaho Residents’ Federal Taxes
December 16, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The final tax bill that Republicans in Congress are poised to approve would provide most of its benefits to high-income households and foreign investors while raising taxes on many low- and middle-income Americans. The bill would go into effect in 2018 but the provisions directly affecting families and individuals would all expire after 2025, with […]
How the House and Senate Tax Bills Would Affect Idaho Residents’ Federal Taxes
December 6, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The House passed its “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” November 16th and the Senate passed its version December 2nd. Both bills would raise taxes on many low- and middle-income families in every state and provide the wealthiest Americans and foreign investors substantial tax cuts, while adding more than $1.4 trillion to the deficit over ten years. The graph below shows that both bills are skewed to the richest 1 percent of Idaho residents.
How the Revised Senate Tax Bill Would Affect Idaho Residents’ Federal Taxes
November 13, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The Senate tax bill released last week would raise taxes on some families while bestowing immense benefits on wealthy Americans and foreign investors. In Idaho, 43 percent of the federal tax cuts would go to the richest 5 percent of residents, and 9 percent of households would face a tax increase, once the bill is fully implemented.
