Center for Fiscal Policy weighs in on property taxes

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK)-As Idaho legislators begin to consider revisions to the state’s property tax regulations, the non-partisan Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy is pushing for a more equitable system.

In a new report, the center says middle and lower income people are currently paying much higher property taxes, as a percentage of income, than more affluent citizens.  Pointing out that everyone pays property taxes, either directly or indirectly through their rent, lawmakers should make equitability a priority.

For example, those making over $418,700 pay 0.3 percent of their earnings to property taxes while Idahoans making $37,900 to $58,700 pay 1.4 percent, or over four times more, of their income to property taxes. For more modest earning households, the difference is more pronounced. Idahoans in the bottom twenty percent of earners pay ten times more property taxes, as a percentage of their income, than the top one percent of earners.

The center is also recommending an update of the “Circuit Breaker” tax credit. It provides a credit on property taxes for low-income seniors.  Right now, that provides a nonrefundable credit of up to $1,320 to qualified people. About 85% of recipients are over 65.  

You can see the policy center’s 2-page report here.