Committee holds House Bill 412; introduces RS 32‑715 to clarify tax technical fixes and timing of $100M property tax relief

The House Revenue and Taxation Committee on Friday held House Bill 412 and introduced RS 32‑715 to clarify several technical income- and sales-tax provisions and to lock in timing for a $100 million property tax relief transfer.

Representative Jeff Ehlers, R‑District 21 of Meridian, told the committee the measures are largely clarifying and corrective language tied to earlier tax bills, including House Bill 40 on income tax relief, House Bill 304 on property tax relief and House Bill 354. He said the changes address definition issues, statute‑of‑limitations language and accounting treatment of a $330 million item used in revenue calculations.

Ehlers said the RS clarifies that the $100 million property tax relief will occur in calendar year 2025 and that the transfer will be completed no later than Aug. 31, 2025, so local districts can include the amount in their 2025 budgets. He said the transfer remains part of the fiscal‑year 2026 accounting but will be distributed in calendar year 2025.

The package also tightens several audit and accounting provisions. According to Ehlers, the RS and bill text align statute‑of‑limitations language so that, for most cases where a taxpayer never filed a return, the Idaho Tax Commission would be limited to auditing the prior three years rather than having an unlimited look‑back; existing fraud exceptions remain unchanged. The proposals also add language to fix ambiguity about when the commission may charge interest during an audit, so interest will not accrue while the matter is awaiting commission action, he said. Finally, the language clarifies that a $330 million adjustment should be treated on the books as part of gross revenue and then removed as an expenditure, aligning Department of Finance and Management (DFM) and Legislative Services Office (LSO) accounting practices.

Representative Birch asked whether the language in House Bill 412 was already reflected in the RS. Representative Adler confirmed the RS contains the same revenue‑accounting language and the two specific changes in the RS are the tightened market‑value ratio (95–105) and the Aug. 31, 2025 timing for the property tax transfer.

Representative Shepherd moved to hold House Bill 412; the motion carried. Representative Jason Monks moved to introduce RS 32‑715 and recommend it for placement on the second‑reading calendar; that motion also carried. Representative Ehlers will be the floor sponsor.

The sponsor said a public hearing on the RS is planned for April 12.

Discussion vs. decision: committee members asked technical and accountability questions about how the $330 million is recorded and whether the RS language could permit reallocation of the funds; Ehlers and LSO/DFM staff said the wording mirrors existing appropriation language for public schools. The committee took two formal actions: it held HB 412 and introduced RS 32‑715 with a recommendation to place it on the second‑reading calendar.

Ending: Committee members indicated the RS will receive a public hearing April 12 and that the committee expects to follow up with additional questions and stakeholders before further floor action.