Bonners Ferry Local Guide including all of Boundary County Idaho

Idaho governor considering California-style property tax system

Friday, April 27, 2007; IDST

Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter is considering changing how property tax is determined in Idaho. The system Otter described would lock assessed values at the sale price, then limit how fast the assessments could grow. "That is something that we're studying, and we'll continue to take a look at," Otter said Thursday during a question-and-answer session on Idaho Public Television's Idaho Reports. He said the idea is similar to California's Proposition 13, that state's landmark property tax revolt in the mid-1970s that stopped property taxes from increasing more than 1 percent per year. Currently in Idaho, property tax assessments are based on the estimated market value. Assessments can grow or shrink each year. Under the change Otter is considering, recent home owners could pay more in property taxes than longtime homeowners even though the homes would be worth the same. Tax experts said changing to the system suggested by Otter would require changing the Idaho Constitution. Doing that would require a two-thirds majority vote in the House and Senate, plus a statewide election with the majority of voters approving. Many Idaho voters, particularly in northern Idaho where home values have increased dramatically, have sought property tax relief. Two years ago, lawmakers studied the state's tax system and rejected a California form of property tax out of concerns it would create uneven taxes and reduce the amount of money taken in by local governments. "That's probably not where you want to go," Senate Assistant Majority Leader Brad Little, R-Emmett, told the Idaho Statesman. "There are always people who don't like property taxes, but most of them are pretty happy with the relief they got last year." In a special session in August, Idaho lawmakers cut $260 million from property taxes and raised the sales tax from 5 percent to 6 percent. - Full Story