(Boise, ID), Governor Brad Little’s State of the State address, delivered before state lawmakers on Jan. 6, he called for continued tax relief for Idahoans to the tune of $100 million through his “Keeping Promises” plan.
But Idaho House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, has been adamant in the weeks since that the Legislature could and should do more – much more.
He’s introduced a combination of bills in the last few days that would collectively reduce taxes by more than $400 million this year.
His bill seeking to reduce Idaho’s individual and corporate income tax rates from 5.695% to 5.3% is advancing to the floor of the Idaho House of Representatives after a vote in the House Revenue and Taxation Committee on Thursday.
House Bill 74, another bill introduced by Moyle this week, is designed to reduce property taxes by providing a one-time transfer of $50 million to the state’s homeowners property tax relief fund and another $50 million every year to help pay for local school construction and renovation projects that would otherwise be funded with property taxes.
“You are going to hear people say we can’t afford tax relief, that we should instead invest the money in this or that program,” Moyle wrote on the social media platform X on Thursday. “I disagree. There’s no better place for taxpayer dollars than in the hands of taxpayers.”
He’s right that other legislators have already questioned how sustainable these tax cuts would be if the state’s economy experienced a downturn.
Rep. Steve Berch, D-Boise, opposed the income tax bill in committee after saying he is not sure if the state can afford to reduce revenue by more than $400 million through tax cuts and still pay for everything in the state budget and keep up with deferred maintenance at public schools.
“We don’t have a revenue number and a budget yet to determine if we can, in fact, afford this bill,” Berch said. “The future of the over $6 billion that we get from the federal government in the face of the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, and other executive orders – we don’t know how that’s going to impact the state of Idaho. That can have a huge impact.”
Democrats also took issue with the bill in a Thursday press release because they say it will favor Idahoans who are already wealthy while “leaving working families behind.”
“Idahoans need fair tax policies that build a thriving middle class, not another upside-down scheme that benefits those who need it the least,” said Idaho Democratic Party Chair Lauren Necochea in the release.
Under House Bill 40, an Idaho family earning between $55,000 and $91,000 would expect to see a tax break of about $127, according to the nonpartisan Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy. Meanwhile, the top 1% of Idaho earners making $738,300 and above would receive a tax cut of about $5,358, according to the center.
But Moyle, who is serving his 14th term in the Legislature, says he has no intention of slowing down.
“Those of you that know me know that the only reason I ran for the Legislature is to cut taxes,” Moyle said on Thursday. “This is probably the largest income tax relief we’ve ever provided or offered to the citizens of Idaho.”