The group behind the successful Medicaid expansion initiative in Idaho has proposed a new measure to boost funding for public education.
Reclaim Idaho’s “Invest in Idaho” initiative would raise income tax rates on corporations and the wealthy by three percentage points to generate $170 million for public schools, reducing the need for local supplemental property tax levies. The proposed initiative would restore the corporate income tax rate to 8 percent, its level from 1987 to 2000, and increase tax rates for individuals who make more than $250,000 and married couples who make more than $500,000.
The group said the changes would impact fewer than 5 percent of Idahoans. It cited a recent Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy report showing that 81 percent of the benefit from the state’s corporate income tax rate reductions flowed to out-of-state shareholders.
The initiative’s approach is the exact opposite of what Idaho lawmakers have been doing in recent years – gradually lowering both the individual and corporate income tax rates, and reasoning that the moves provide tax relief and make Idaho more competitive.
More than 55,000 signatures from registered Idaho voters are needed for the initiative to make the November 2020 ballot.
Proposed initiatives already circulating in Idaho include one to raise the minimum wage and one to legalize medical marijuana.
Last year, the Idaho Legislature passed a proposed law that would have given Idaho the toughest restrictions on voter initiatives of any state, but it was vetoed by Governor Brad Little. (Idaho Press)
