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Tax commission defends FAST system costs and reports collections exceed projected ROI; seeks vehicles and IT maintenance funding
Summary
Idaho State Tax Commission officials told the budget committee FAST system maintenance and licensing increases are ongoing and provided an ROI summary showing $34.3 million collected since implementation; the agency also requested vehicle replacements and IT hardware funding for FY26.
The Idaho State Tax Commission presented its FY26 budget to the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on Feb. 18, defending ongoing maintenance and support costs for the agency's FAST tax‑management system and requesting one‑time and ongoing funds for vehicles, security and IT infrastructure.
Commission Chairman Jeff McCray said the FAST project exceeded its projected return on investment: "Since that time we've collected $34,287,416 so far—so far exceeded the ROI," he told the committee and said the agency reverted $309,948 to the general fund at the close of FY24. McCray provided to the committee an offer to share the detailed ROI report.
Budget requests include $1,143,100 in potential enhancements if approved: vehicle replacements (a light‑duty truck and nine vehicles), ongoing contract inflation and maintenance increases for the FAST system, a request tied to commissioner compensation changes calculated on a 5% governor recommendation, and approximately $300,700 for ITS security and infrastructure investments including laptops, monitors, switches and servers.
Why it matters: Committee members questioned the nature of FAST as a software investment and the rising ongoing maintenance/support costs. McCray said FAST is a vendor‑licensed tax management system that requires ongoing licensing, security updates and development work to reflect legislative changes (for example, suspension of interest under a recent statute). The agency provided a vehicle breakdown, mileage and justification in the committee’s SharePoint materials; the commission noted light‑duty trucks are used by the compliance program to seize equipment later auctioned to offset taxes owed.
Other details: The Tax Commission reduced its FTP cap from 448 to 440 positions over recent years and reported a five‑year base increase of 18.2% in its budget. Mr. LaHozet, the legislative analyst, summarized the agency’s requests and noted that if all enhancements were approved the total FY26 appropriation would increase by $1,143,100.
Follow up and transparency: Committee members asked for the FAST maintenance and support breakdown and for the commission to provide the ROI documentation; the commission said it would share the ROI figures via the analyst. No formal vote was taken at the hearing; the tax commission asked the committee for continued support of ongoing operations and staffing.
