Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Revenue And Taxation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee introduces RS 31789 to align Idaho tax code with federal law
Summary
The House Revenue and Taxation Committee voted to introduce RS 31789, an annual measure to conform Idaho law to the Internal Revenue Code; sponsor and members said the move prevents taxpayer confusion and has no fiscal impact, and the committee approved meeting minutes before taking the action.
The House Revenue and Taxation Committee voted to introduce RS 31789, an annual measure to align Idaho tax law with the Internal Revenue Code, after a brief presentation and members' questions.
Representative Jeff Ehlers, District 21 (Meridian), the bill sponsor, told the committee, "This is an annual bill that we bring forward. What it does is it allows the state of Idaho to conform to the IRS tax code. It saves taxpayers, tax filers a lot of time because instead of having to redo all the work that you did, when your federal taxes, you can just take that as your basis to roll forward into your state taxes." He said there were few changes this year and the bill primarily moves the statutory reference forward to the most recent federal code.
Ehlers said the conformity is time-sensitive because "the tax commission is going to start accepting tax returns January 15th," and failing to conform would create confusion for filers and for the Idaho Tax Commission about which definitions to use. When Representative Gannon asked whether there was any fiscal impact, Ehlers replied, "No. There is no fiscal impact. Congress ... did not make any changes to the tax code," adding that anticipated federal changes after the 2024–25 administration shift could change next year's discussion.
Representative Cheatham asked about "internal revenue code section 85" and its treatment. Ehlers responded that, to his understanding, that section contains definitions of taxable income and deductions and that RS 31789 conforms Idaho law to those definitions; he added the Idaho Tax Commission could provide a more technical answer.
Before taking the RS vote the committee approved the minutes from the Jan. 7 meeting on a voice vote after Representative Bruce moved to approve them. Representative Shepherd moved to introduce RS 31789; the committee then voted by voice and the chairman declared, "The motion carries. RS 31789 is introduced."
No fiscal estimates, amendments, or objections were recorded during the committee's discussion. The transcript indicates the committee asked that distribution of RS drafts follow the sponsor-permission practice used for this item.
