GOVERNOR RISCH CALLS FOR SPECIAL SESSION
TO REDUCE PROPERTY TAXES

BOISE/IDAHO FALLS/COEUR D’ALENE – Governor Jim Risch today officially called on legislators to return to Boise August 25 for a special session on property tax relief. He signed the proclamation at a press conference attended by Speaker of the House Bruce Newcomb, Senate President Pro Tem Bob Geddes and numerous local legislators.

“The time has come to give property owners permanent property tax relief by moving the maintenance and operations levy from property taxes to the state’s general fund. It will immediately and permanently reduce property taxes, it is constitutional and by using the surplus we can protect education funding now and in the future,” said Risch.

Removing the 3-mil maintenance and operations levy will reduce property taxes statewide by $260 million. Risch proposes adding one-cent to the sales tax to bring in $210 million annually. The net overall reduction in taxes is $50 million. The one-cent sales tax increase would be effective October 1 if passed by the special session of the Idaho Legislature.

The governor would use $50 million of the surplus to make up the difference between the property tax cut and the sales tax increase. He would also transfer $100 million to an education “rainy day” savings account to protect education funding from any future economic downturn. The state’s fiscal year ended with just over $200 million more in the bank than projected.

The proposal also includes an advisory vote on the November 2006 ballot.

“The net result of my proposal is a $50 million dollar tax cut that will take affect this year and every year. The maintenance and operations levy is the driver of property tax increases and this will remove the cause of the enormous increase in property taxes when values escalate,” said Risch. “Idahoans should not have to worry about being driven out of their homes by property tax increases just because they had a huge rise in the value of their home. The primary beneficiary of this property tax relief is middle-income Idahoans.”

###

Note: An electronic version of the RS (proposed bill) and the Statement of Purpose will be posted on the Governor’s web page at 4 p.m. MDT today. The web page can be found at http://gov.idaho.gov/

Return to July Press Releases