In a press briefing on Wednesday in Southeast Boise, ID, Governor Brad Little (R-ID) announced the signing of a major property tax relief bill that promised more than 4.6 billion dollars in tax relief towards Idaho residents.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Joining us today, this is another big moment and a big win for Idaho homeowners and families.
00:06I want to thank Ver Hays, Joey, Maddie, and Brooks
00:13for hosting us today at their lovely home here in Southeast Boise.
00:18Joey is a firefighter with the Meridian Fire Department.
00:21Maddie is a public school teacher.
00:23As a young growing family, they want and deserve to keep more of their hard-earned dollars.
00:28I am proud to join my legislative partners who championed this effort and
00:33sign House Bill 304 today, giving another $100 million dollars in property tax relief to Idahoans
00:40on top of the more than $4.6 million in tax relief we've delivered in just a few short years.
00:50$50 million will be provided through the Public School Facilities Fund,
00:56a continuation of our historic public education investments through House Bill 521,
01:02and $50 million will be provided directly in the homeowners' property tax relief again.
01:08House Bill 304 offers additional support for our public schools while relieving the burden
01:26on local taxpayers to cover the cost of bonds, levies, and plant facilities.
01:33This is truly a win-win.
01:36This bill is yet another example of Idaho keeping our promises and our priorities straight.
01:43I've said it before and I'll say it again, Idaho wants, America wants what Idaho has.
01:51Safe communities, strong schools, a bustling economy
01:57that offers tremendous opportunities for our people to prosper.
02:00I'm proud to join the dedicated leaders in the House and Senate
02:05for the signing of this important bill today.
02:07First, we'll hear from Joy Berhe, our host today,
02:11and he will share with us what today's tax relief means for his family.
02:20I just wanted to quickly say thank you to Governor Little
02:26and to the legislature that passed this bill unanimously.
02:30As the cost of everything continuously climbs,
02:32it's reassuring to know that the lawmakers of Idaho, led by Governor Little,
02:37are focused on understanding the challenges that families face
02:40and prioritizing sending money back to taxpayers.
02:43As a young and growing Idaho family, we felt the financial strain of property taxes.
02:49Legislation like this provides families like mine more financial breathing room,
02:53allowing us to focus on the things that matter most,
02:56raising our children, saving for the future, and supporting our community.
03:01Very good.
03:07Well, it's an honor to be here today with the governor and to be with this family today.
03:11You know, when I came to the legislature, I told my district that every bill that I looked at,
03:16I would ask, is it good for the Idaho family?
03:18And this is a day that I'm very pleased to say this is a good bill for the Idaho family.
03:24We're seeing taxes cut historically this year in the Idaho legislature,
03:29and these are things that really impact people's lives.
03:34I'm very pleased to be here with Senator Ricks and Senator Grove,
03:37who have worked very, very hard over the years to make a difference for Idaho families.
03:42And, you know, we are seeing, again, I think this is the fourth time in my legislative career,
03:47we have seen historic cuts for Idahoans in taxes.
03:52And so, a big day for Idaho, a big day for Idaho taxpayers,
03:56and I thank you very much for being here today.
04:00Mr. Speaker,
04:03a lot of people don't know it, but the last two years,
04:05we've provided over a half a million dollars in property tax relief.
04:09This will add another $100 million to that.
04:11That's a good thing for the state of Idaho.
04:13I want to thank the governor and others that have helped also,
04:15because this year, with this added $100 million,
04:18we'll be over $400 million in tax relief this year alone,
04:21to go with what we've done the last three years,
04:22is we've cut property taxes every year,
04:24income taxes the two of those three years,
04:26and continue the process of lowering the tax burden on our citizens.
04:30This is great for Idaho,
04:31and hopefully we can continue this process of lowering taxes.
04:34All right.
04:39Am I about through signing these bills?
04:41We can get them out and send them.
04:46My inbox is empty.
04:48I just emptied it just a minute ago.
04:56It's the 26th?
05:03I only had 52 minutes to spare.
05:18There we go.
05:31All right.
05:32Let's go ahead and get a couple photos,
05:34so if everyone wants to kind of scooch in a little bit.
05:54Okay.
05:56All right, everyone.
05:57Look right here.
05:59Ready?
05:59Three, two, one.
06:02Three, two, one.
06:03And let's do one more.
06:07Okay.
06:08Very nice.
06:09All right, yeah.
06:10We'll open it up to some questions if you guys.
06:12All right.
06:24So you mentioned that,
06:26all of you mentioned that this helps kind of young,
06:29growing families and, you know, Idahoans, regular Idahoans.
06:34But most of the tax cuts this year went to income tax cuts,
06:39which have kind of a disproportionate effect.
06:42Do you want to just talk about kind of prioritizing the tax cuts this year?
06:46Since there were so many, you know, 400 billion is a lot of money.
06:50So just kind of talk about that.
06:51It is a lot of money.
06:54But, you know, besides what we've invested in water,
06:58roads, sewer, all of those things, and workforce.
07:03There's a little bill hanging over there on workforce.
07:07We're trying to make it to where people can afford a house and build a house.
07:10That's all very, very conducive to young families
07:15making that critical investment in their first home.
07:20What does something like this mean for the average Idahoan?
07:24Well, you know, my experience, and I know these guys,
07:29when their taxes go down, you don't get many phone calls.
07:33If their assessment goes up, their taxes go up.
07:35We get lots of phone calls.
07:37We continue, and of course, the fact that the hyperinflation
07:42here in the real estate market has gone down.
07:44But we just continue to make property taxes.
07:47I think out of the 50 states, we're the 13th lowest for property taxes.
07:53But that doesn't mean we don't have more to do.
07:56And the income tax is one, it's a flat rate.
08:00Everybody pays it.
08:02There's, if you have any other kind of a rate,
08:05then you got to pick a loser and a winner.
08:07Somebody's going to be right on the edge.
08:09And if you just have a flat rate, then everybody gets the same.
08:13Governor, can you tell me a little bit more about
08:14why it was important to combine both tax relief and benefits for public schools?
08:20Well, I can give you some hypothetical question,
08:23but I think the reason is they needed the votes.
08:26Pardon?
08:27They needed the votes.
08:28Oh, sure.
08:29No, but I was talking about pairing these two bills together with,
08:32or this bill with public schools as well as taxes.
08:35Well, that's what I'm saying.
08:36Oh, sorry, I misunderstood.
08:39Did I get that right?
08:39You got it right.
08:41We don't pay for school buildings, tax relief.
08:46What else?
08:47Do you have any concerns over too many cuts this session?
08:51Well, we'll see.
08:53You know, we were, most of us were with Governor DeSantis a couple of days ago,
08:58and he made the point that Florida is doing great,
09:01but the only state doing better in Florida is Idaho.
09:04And as long as we keep growing our gross domestic product,
09:07and, you know, we'll need to watch it.
09:12We'll need to be vigilant about what takes place.
09:16But that, I don't see anything,
09:20if, you know, I hear a little something here and there,
09:22but I think we're going to continue to grow.
09:24If we continue to grow, we'll be fine.
09:26But we are going to have to continue to grow.
09:29And to kind of go along with that,
09:31there's no concern that these cuts will affect state budget issues,
09:36you know, funding of different things around the state?
09:39Well, you know, some of my friends told me that 4.6 billion dollars ago.
09:45And we've been doing it for a total of 4.6 billion.
09:49And so, I mean, I think the proof's in the pudding.
09:53This, no question, this is a larger one.
09:56But we need to keep that momentum going,
09:59and giving people property tax relief,
10:01and helping schools is going to be a big part of doing that.
10:08Do you have an estimate on, like,
10:09what the average household would see
10:12in terms of a reduction on their property taxes?
10:16I can help you.
10:18About 14.6 percent, about 14.6 percent for homeowners.
10:24And that's total with what was previously in total?
10:27No, that's just because this year, from the total,
10:31from the total bill, 14.6 percent cut for the homeowner.
10:35Hope we can do that.
10:37Because it's different every time.
10:38Remember on property taxes, though,
10:41not just in the United States,
10:42property taxes are controlled by the Labor Department.
10:45So if those local decision makers decide
10:47to increase their budgets, they can take that away.
10:50It's all tied to a budget in the local area.
10:52This is the state taking general fund money back
10:54to subsidize their budgets.
10:56What they do with their budgets,
10:57you have to impact what that number is.
10:59I think a lot of people forget,
11:00the state, we don't set property taxes,
11:02we don't collect them, we don't spend them.
11:04That's all done locally.
11:06And if they make those decisions there,
11:07then they determine whether they go for that.
11:11All right.
11:12Well, thank you, everyone, for joining.