The group behind the successful Medicaid expansion initiative in Idaho is spreading the word about its new measure to boost funding for public education.
Information sessions are scheduled in north-central Idaho Wednesday and Thursday for Reclaim Idaho’s “Invest in Idaho” initiative, which 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 proposal 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.
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.
Reclaim Idaho’s information sessions include a general outline of the proposal followed by a question-and-answer period. The first is in Lewiston Wednesday afternoon at 1 o’clock at the LCSC Center for Arts and History on Main Street, with another session Wednesday night at 7 o’clock at One World Cafe in Moscow.
On Thursday, there’s a 1 o’clock presentation at Stoddard Electric in Orofino, and tomorrow night at 6 o’clock at the Soltman Center in Grangeville. (Reclaim Idaho, Idaho Press)
