Idaho Tax Committee Vote to Lower Rate

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Business leaders worried Idaho's tax rates are too high compared to its neighbors notched an initial victory when the House Revenue and Taxation Committee approved a bill aiming to make the state more competitive. The Republican-led panel voted Thursday to back the Idaho Chamber Alliance's proposal to cut corporate and individual income tax rates by a percentage point annually over the next six years, for an eventual $125 million cost. Once completed, it would leave Idaho's top tax rate at 6.8 percent, lower than Montana's 6.9 percent. The House will debate the bill, but its future is uncertain. The Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee chairman, Terreton Republican Jeff Siddoway, says the only cut he's likely to consider this year is eliminating what remains of Idaho's tax on business equipment.