BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho's tax collection agency says the 2012 tax bill on business equipment is nearly $141 million, a sum likely to become the subject of heated debate during the 2013 Legislature as lawmakers consider proposals to eliminate the assessment.

The Idaho State Tax Commission's 51-page report released Wednesday is the first time the agency has made a comprehensive study of the personal property tax. Groups including the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry want lawmakers to repeal the tax, saying it's a cash and time drag on businesses. In 2008, a partial repeal was passed by lawmakers, but the faltering economy stopped them from enacting it.

Alan Dornfest, the property tax policy supervisor for the Tax Commission, says this report gives lawmakers information for making sound decisions this coming legislative session.

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