From the Executive Director: Week of January 17
Tax Relief Takes Center Stage Six months into the current state fiscal year the state budget surplus stands at $1.9 billion. Let me repeat that: the state budget surplus is $1.9 billion and counting. With such a large budget surplus, all eyes are on what to do with it. The Governor has laid out his …
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Educational Property Tax Symposium Brings National Experts to Boise
The Idaho Association of County Assessors (IACA), Idaho Association of Counties (IAC) and Associated Taxpayers of Idaho (ATI) came together to co-host and sponsor an educational event on property taxes to kick off the legislative session in downtown Boise. Several legislators, county and city officials and business and industry folks participated in the event both …
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From the Executive Director: Week of January 10
All Eyes on Budget Surplus As the 2022 Legislative Session officially begins, the Legislature is poised to tackle legislation ranging from vaccines mandates to election security to housing, but the real question on everyone’s mind is what the Legislature will do with the state’s historical budget surplus which now exceeds $1.6 billion. Look for policy …
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Summary of Gov. Little’s State of the State Address and How It May Impact Counties
Governor Brad Little proposes big investments in transportation and education alongside tax cuts. The proposed budget would pay off state building debt and bolster rainy-day funds by adding more than $1 billion to the bank. It would also aim to spend $1.1 billion over the next five years on Idaho education. The Governor also proposed …
2022 IAC Legislative Priorities
Property tax continues to be a hot button issue across the state. The IAC Legislative Committee recognizes there are only two ways to provide property tax relief to homeowners: First, expand property tax exemptions for homeowners which results in a property tax shift to businesses and farms. Second, provide other non-property tax revenue sources in …
County Property Tax Budgets
IAC has been reviewing property tax budget data for the 2021 tax year from information recently released by the Idaho State Tax Commission. The data reveals that local taxing districts levied just over $2.1 billion in property taxes for tax year 2021 (county fiscal year 2022). From this amount, counties budgeted just over $560 million, …
County Officials Invited to Attend Property Tax Summit on January 7
We know that property tax relief is poised to be one of the biggest issues before the legislature in 2022. We also know most Idahoans, including many legislators, do not understand the nuances of how the property tax system works. To that end, the Idaho Association of County Assessors, in partnership with IAC and the …
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IAC Immediate Past President Travels to Georgia for NACo Board of Directors Meeting
By Kathy Ackerman, IAC Immediate Past President The National Association of Counties (NACo) Board of Directors meeting was held in Dekalb County (Decatur), Georgia on December 2-4 in conjunction with the Large Urban County Caucus (LUCC) meeting. One of the primary purposes of the Board meeting was to set the legislative priorities for the coming …
IACA 2021 Fall Meeting Recap
Over three dozen County Assessors, deputies and appraisers from across the state met in Boise last week for the 2021 Idaho Association of County Assessors (IACA) annual Fall Meeting. Caribou County Assessor and current president of IACA Aaron Cook led discussions on a variety of topics. Topics included reports on valuation processes, the Interim Property …
Want Flexibility on ARPA Spending? Contact Your Congressman
In late October, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure, and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act (S. 3011/H.R. 5735). It was introduced to the House on November 1 but has not seen further movement since. Many counties have struggled when determining how to use these funds based on the …
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