During the 2021 legislative session, Idaho lawmakers passed a sweeping tax bill that changed, among other things, who can get a break on their property taxes. Now some lawmakers want to change it back to help those struggling with skyrocketing home values.
After last year’s change, homeowners couldn’t get the tax break unless their property value was more than 200% of their county’s median value. Sen. Regina Bayer (R-Meridian) wants to turn that number back to 125% .
Bayer said 25,000 people used the circuit breaker to lower their property tax bill last year. She says 1,758 homeowners will be kicked off the program this year unless something is done.
In the Senate, Bayer read a series of letters from city and county leaders, including the Owyhee County Treasurer, who wrote that without Bayer’s bill, some of the most vulnerable county residents would fall off the program.
“We would lose 45 of those people that are living way below the poverty level. They will go without heat, prescriptions or food to pay their taxes,” said Bayer.
The Senate passed the bill unanimously, sending it to the Idaho House, which is already working on a different bill to help vulnerable homeowners.
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