As we get into the last part of the month of March, and our legislators in Boise start getting cabin fever, I thought it would be a good time to see how the agenda that leadership put before us at the beginning of the session is working out. It really seems to me that many […]
(The contents of this article are the opinion of the author and not necessarily of the Gem State Patriot.) Repeal the Grocery Tax—ASAP Property tax relief with a “mark to sale” property tax vs a “mark to market” tax—this session—please and thank you. Accountability of government agencies (DHW) and (DE) that are conduits for over […]
My wife and I have an ongoing debate about the best romantic movie ever made. She is torn between GONE WITH THE WIND, Dr. ZHIVAGO, and OR ABOUT 35 Hall Mark movies. For me, the best romantic movie is either TOP GUN or BULL DURHAM. Last night after watching the NCAA Wrestling tournament on ESPN […]
There are several things our State Legislature and Governor could do to help all Idahoans this next legislative session. They could make food cheaper by repealing the grocery tax. They could make owning a business and owning a home or property easier for everyone but especially for those on the margins, by creating a fair […]
(Or Dump our Governor and Legislative leaders in 2022) Let me start off with an explanation of Regressive taxes. These are taxes that place more burden on low-income earners. Since they are flat taxes, they take a higher percentage of income on the poor than on high-income earners. Taxes on most consumer goods, sales, gas, […]
Dateline: BOISE, IDAHO, February 2021 — When you hit the neighborhood grocery store to do your weekly shopping trip for eggs, milk, bread, fruits and other staples, you pay the cost of the groceries plus an additional 6% in state sales tax which goes into the state general fund. The grocery tax brings in about […]
Idahoans have been wondering why, after all the promises by our governor and legislators to repeal the grocery tax, all such attempts have been stopped in committee. We did a little digging and found someone we consider a credible source who told us that allegedly Albertsons, AARP and Idaho legislative representatives from the Pocatello and […]
Government is an over-achiever in collecting taxes on nearly everything we do. It’s hard to imagine anything in our everyday life that is not taxed. We are taxed for our homes, our property, our cars, our purchases, our earnings, our investments, and even after death. This year Idaho has a great opportunity to eliminate taxes […]
Here is what we see so far in the legislature We would like to thank Representative Priscilla Giddings for trying to bring up the Grocery Tax repeal in committee but unfortunately, she was shut down by Representative Gary Collins and Thyra Stevenson. It appears that these two supposed conservative republicans have either become part of […]
Let me try to clarify what the governor said in his state of the state message because, like all politicians, he gives us a lot of double talk that needs to be translated into common English. The Grocery Tax from our conservative Representative Priscilla Giddings: During the 2019 Legislative session, based on the Wayfair decision, […]
Governor Little has asked all state agencies to cut their budgets by 1% for this year and 2% for next because of falling tax revenues. He has also asked our state colleges to cut their budgets by 1% this year and 2% next year. The only budgets that were not cut were those connected with […]
First, I would like to chime in on some of your comments about the legislature and how they do a lot of talking but when it comes to cutting their bloated budgets and reducing taxes, they are nothing but a flock of lame ducks. Let’s be honest; most of them have yet to prove themselves […]