Rep. Janet Trujillo, R-Idaho Falls, in her opening debate for HB 425, the tax conformity bill, told the House, “This is a bill that our CPA community is anxiously awaiting. This is our annual conformity bill and it relates to Idaho income tax. The internal code is needed to set our base or our starting point for our Idaho tax filers. Jan. 19 of this year was the first date on which the filers could begin filing, but not so in Idaho, because they wait for us, they wait for this bill to come through.”

Rep. Mat Erpelding, D-Boise, told the House, “I really think it’s an amazing day when the gentleman from 14 (Majority Leader Mike Moyle) and myself are both accused of treason in e-mails, so we really stepped in something here.” Erpelding said the process of conforming Idaho’s tax laws with federal changes this year “has been hijacked by hate and misunderstanding.”

He said, “The new language works. It accomplishes the goal that when it comes to taxes, all people are treated equally, underline. I’m a pro-business, pro-people leader in Idaho. What has happened here is we have pitted the desperate needs of businesses and Idahoans against discriminatory, hateful language in our statutes. Our caucus will not stand in the way of ensuring that Idahoans have the opportunity to receive their tax refunds in a timely manner. Simultaneously, our caucus will not stand by and condone language that is intentionally discriminatory inside of our state statutes, it’s wrong. And for that, we will provide a divided vote.”