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Board of Tax Appeals asks JFAC to raise per diem from $300 to $400; request would require statute change
Summary
The Board of Tax Appeals requested a $29,200 ongoing increase to raise its three-member board per diem from $300 to $400 per day. Directors told JFAC members the board is limited to 80 work days per year and uses per diem to compensate prep, hearing and decision time; the change would require amending Idaho Code 63-3804.
The Board of Tax Appeals told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee it is seeking a statutory change to increase daily per diem for its three board members from $300 to $400 and asked for $29,200 in ongoing general-fund personnel authority to cover the change.
"The 3 board members act as administrative law judges who preside over public tax appeals hearings around the state," analyst Christopher Lahoset said while presenting the agency's FY2026 budget request. Lahoset told the committee the requested $29,200 would raise the per diem from $300 to $400 and that the change would require legislation to amend section 63-3804 of the Idaho Code.
Cindy Pollock, director of the Board of Tax Appeals, said the board is funded and allowed to work 80 days per year and that members frequently perform significant preparation and decision work outside the formal hearing day. "The board is only allowed to work 80 days. They're funded for 80 days... So for our board to get all their work done, they have come up with a model themselves, internal policy where they when they have a hearing or a board meeting, it's usually a full day's work. When they have prep time or decision making, they break it down hourly," Pollock said.
Pollock told members the agency typically handles about 300 appeals annually but caseloads vary; in one year the agency received about 600 appeals from a single county and has in the past asked for supplemental board time. She also said a 10-year average shows appellants achieved a modification (a win or partial win) in about 39% of cases.
Committee members asked whether per diem covers preparation time, whether the agency expects to revert funds, and why the increase is being requested after a prior raise in 2017. Pollock said the per diem increase is intended to better compensate experienced board members who often undergo extensive training (including a judicial-college course) and perform work that would otherwise occupy a substantial portion of their time.
No formal committee vote or legislative action on the per diem request was recorded in the hearing. Lahoset and the director said the change requires statutory amendment and would need to be presented to the Legislature as legislation.
