Tagged: Taxes

Idaho has named the highway department headquarters in Boise after former Governor Phil Batt. 

At a ceremony Thursday, Batt told the crowd the building is over 50 years old. “They been hunting for the oldest person to name it after.  I’m 86. They found me," Batt joked. "Of course I’m highly honored, there are many more deserving people than I, I have only one thing to say to them, tough luck it’s mine.” 

Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter is spending part of his week in Coeur d’Alene at Idaho’s largest business lobby’s annual convention. Gov. Otter’s spokesman says one of the administration’s main goals for the next legislative session is to pass a third-consecutive year of tax cuts.

A left-leaning tax policy group recently put out a short little report about the state corporate income taxes paid by IDACorp. That’s the holding company of Idaho’s largest electric utility, Idaho Power. 

The report claims IDACorp paid no state income taxes nationwide from 2007 through 2011.

Famous for its potatoes, trout fishing, and blue AstroTurf, Idaho might not have much in common with Hawaii. But here’s one thing: Idaho and Hawaii are the only two states in the country to tax Girl Scout Cookies. Now, some local Scouts are beefing up their sales pitches and learning to lobby.

For cookie connoisseurs, this might be the best time of year. It’s Girl Scout cookie season. Starting next week, Idaho Girl Scouts will be canvassing neighborhoods and their parents’ offices to take orders for boxes of Thin Mints, Samoas, and all the rest.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho just finished a bruising debate over reforming public education, with voters rejecting public schools chief Tom Luna's overhaul.

Come 2013, the Legislature is likely to discuss an education policy change not in that package but potentially as contentious: whether Idaho should offer tax credits to those who donate to scholarship programs meant to help students attend private or parochial schools.

According to the Tax Policy Center Idaho has the 10th largest share of tax filers who don’t pay federal income taxes.

Idaho counties will share more than $26 million as part of the 2012 Payment in Lieu of Taxes program or PILT. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar made the announcement Thursday.

Blaine, Cassia, and Elmore counties will get the largest payments, around $2 million per county.  The payments offset losses in property taxes on nontaxable federal lands. More than 60 percent of Idaho's land is public.

Senate Republicans in Washington, D.C. blocked a Democratic bill to keep some student loan interest rates from doubling.  U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) was among them.

Crapo says most lawmakers want to keep subsidized Stafford loan rates at their current 3.4 percent.  Republicans and Democrats, though, disagree on how to pay for it.