Where’s the tax relief?

... A legislative committee had met and gamed out a strategy for mitigating property tax relief. Legislative leaders said the time was ripe to address the issue even in the era of COVID-19.

Since that time, things seem to have fallen apart. The Legislature has not acted on income tax relief to date, let alone proposed any meaningful reforms to property tax relief. The actions the Legislature has taken on property tax relief are punitive in nature, hamstringing local and county governments by maxing out how much they can raise their property taxes in the coming years — all while the state delegates more and more responsibilities to them.

There are a number of strategies the Legislature can pursue to limit the impact of property taxes on homeowners. ...

Increase the circuit breaker exemption so the working poor and elderly living on fixed incomes are not taxed out of their homes. ...

Either increase the property tax exemption cap to account for rising residential home values or, better yet, index it to home values. ...

Why don’t we charge developers impact fees and allow local jurisdictions to use the funds to plan for not just current operating costs but future costs as well (such as education).

The Legislature may ultimately get here. But with an intense and largely muddled focus on attacking the governor’s emergency powers and health mandates, the Legislature seems more focused on punishing responsible, local jurisdictions than actually providing any meaningful property tax relief to Idaho’s homeowners. ...

Gabriel Iacoboni

Lewiston

Canceling conservatives

Lately there has been a definite trend, by many liberal pundits in the media, of labeling anyone they disagree with as “liars.” This has definitely spread into the editorial page of the Lewiston Tribune.

People such as Mike Ruskovich, Shelley Dumas, Brian Rhoades and many others are quick to label all conservatives as liars.

Their favorite target, of course, is former President Donald Trump but they also label anyone who agrees with any conservative ideology.

In truth, all three of these liberal hacks are themselves liars.

According to Psalm 116:11, “All men are liars.”

Or perhaps, they consider themselves just a little higher than everyone else.

This is little more than shotgun bigotry on behalf of people too lazy to do their homework and actually research facts. To call anyone a liar without stating the alleged lie means nothing. It is just a liberal tactic to discredit those with whom they disagree and devalue them to the general public.

It is a favorite tactic of the cancel culture.

Dick Sherwin

Lewiston