Among the speakers at the Associated Taxpayers of Idaho conference in Boise today is Nikki Dobay, senior tax counsel for the Council on State Taxation, a group that represents multistate corporations and is affiliated with the Council of State Chambers of Commerce. COST prepares an annual scorecard on property taxes that businesses pay. “You guys got a B-minus, so you’re not doing bad at all,” Dobay told the ATI audience. “A B is a really good grade – nobody got an A.”

In the group’s latest State and Local Business Tax Burden Study, which was issued in August, Idaho’s business taxes were pegged at 4.3 percent of private sector gross state product, compared to a U.S. average of 4.5 percent. Dobay also said that corporate income taxes actually are just a small part of the state and local taxes businesses pay, with property and sales taxes as a bigger factor.