Gov. Little signs bill providing $600M in tax cuts
BOISE, Idaho, — Idaho Governor Brad Little signed the “Leading Idaho” income tax relief bill, which plans to provide $601 million in tax cuts.
Little signed House Bill 436 on Friday, confirming $350 million in one-time tax rebates this spring and $251 million of tax relief starting in July.
“The cooperation that exists between my office and my partners in the Legislature is very important to me, and it is part of the reason we are here today,” Little said. “I appreciate the Idaho Legislature for making tax relief a priority.”
The bill is part of Little’s “Leading Idaho Plan” which aims to make investments in education, transportation, water, and broadband. However, the bill received no Democratic support, with many believing the bill will only benefit the rich. Idaho Democrats say most of these tax cuts are taking funds from other government services, like education.
Little says his priority is getting money back in the pockets of Idahoans in light of rising inflation and federal debt. Idaho’s Democrats say the tax funds could have gone towards programs that are neglected by the state and the tax cuts will do little to help the state’s poorer population.
The bill will cut the state’s income tax rate from 6.5-percent to 6 percent. The money for the $350 in tax rebates will come from the state’s $1.9 billion budget surplus.
“Our country reached a grim milestone this week – the national debt, for the first time in history, exceeds $30 trillion,” said Little. “Meanwhile, here in Idaho, we have a record budget surplus of $1.9 billion, which represents a whopping 40-percent of our General Fund!”
Editor’s Note: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
READ: ‘It’s a good feeling to be back’: Schmidty’s Burgers reopens in Coeur d’Alene following fire
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
