Idaho Democrats Eager to Find Property Tax Solutions Benefitting Homeowners
IDAHO CAPITOL – Democrats on the Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee support Senate Bill 1111, with some reservations.
S1111 creates a discount on property tax bills for homeowners, while raising applicant income limits and easing home value restrictions for circuit breaker eligibility. The circuit breaker is a property tax reduction program primarily benefiting low-income seniors and veterans. This move will help older Idahoans remain in their homes as property taxes rise.
“It was extremely disheartening to see the legislature take much-needed property tax assistance away from low-income seniors with House Bill 389 in 2021,” said Senator Rick Just (D-Boise), a member of the Senate Local Government and Tax Committee. “S111 undoes a great deal of that harm by allowing more seniors to access that assistance once again.”
“After years of the Republican supermajority expanding corporate property tax exemptions while the homeowner’s exemption was capped, a different approach is long overdue. I appreciate that homeowners are finally being prioritized,” continued Just. “People in my district are being priced out of their homes simply because their property tax bill outpaces their income.”
“This legislation could go further and undo the underlying tax shift, which is the major cause of rising property taxes for homeowners,” says Senator Ali Rabe (D-Garden City) who is also on the Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee.
Commercial interests are benefitting from this ongoing tax shift, which stems from a 2016 GOP law capping the homeowner’s exemption, which used to rise automatically with home values. According to the State Tax Commission, among the properties that were in existence in 2016, homeowners have seen a 20.5% increase in property taxes and commercial properties have seen a 24.1% decrease.
Senators Just and Rabe support House Bill 78, a bipartisan proposal to restore an index based on the sales price of Idaho homes to adjust the maximum homeowner’s exemption each year. It was introduced on Feb. 2 and hasn’t moved since. The bill would rebalance the tax load between commercial and residential property taxes by restoring the homeowner’s exemption to the level it would be at today if Republican legislators had not capped it in 2016.
Rabe continued, “Although S1111 isn’t perfect, it will help homeowners. As a Democrat, I support legislation that benefits Idaho’s working families. When it comes to property taxes, the Legislature has catered to special interests for too long.”
Idaho Democrats’ priority is an economy that works for all Idahoans, including affordable housing. In order for families to thrive, they need a stable place to call home.
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