House debate: ‘A financial circus,’ ‘Flat tax encourages growth,’ ‘We don’t take this lightly’
More from this morning’s House debate on HB 311:
House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, was the ninth straight House Democrat to speak out against HB 311, the GOP tax bill. “At its heart, it’s a tax hike for middle-class Idahoans,” he said. “It’s dressed up in a shell game, a financial circus. You’ve had multiple analyses, from the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy and from the Associated Taxpayers, that show middle-income Idahoans get to fund this party. … I know there’s bright people here in the House, but if this is the best that we can come up with, all I can do is shake my head and ask you to vote no.”
Rep. Janet Trujillo, R-Idaho Falls, spoke out in favor of the bill. “High taxes alter our economic behavior, and the tax system of this state needs to minimally distort this economic behavior,” she said. “As policy makers, we can make sure that there is more capital in the hands of businesses and citizens. … A flat tax encourages economic growth by avoiding a system in which you are penalized at a higher tax rate for being productive and for earning money.” She said the bill would make Idaho more competitive with other states in the region that have lower or no individual income taxes, and that don’t tax groceries.
House Revenue & Taxation Chairman Gary Collins, R-Nampa, also spoke in favor of the bill, noting the benefit to border communities of removal of Idaho’s sales tax from food. “Those of us that have been to Ontario and seen how many Idaho cars are shopping at WalMart in Ontario - this ... would be a benefit to those in those areas, taking the tax off of food,” he said. “This bill takes that tax away, and I think that it would be an overall benefit for the citizens of Idaho.”
Rep. Marc Gibbs, R-Grace, vice-chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said, “I don’t think we take this lightly – this is a major undertaking, this bill and what it may do.” He said the bill uses “fiscal restraint,” and said, “I think sufficient analysis has gone into the bill.”
Rep. Ron Nate, R-Rexburg, said, “I think this is a good bill. It accomplishes some good things for our taxpayers and at the same time funds some of our road needs.”
