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Staff outlines sales-tax distribution changes, cautions on shrinking share to general fund
Summary
Budget staff reviewed sales tax distributions, the growth of earmarks (including the Techum allocation and the tax relief fund), and warned the committee that a smaller share of gross sales tax now reaches the general fund, increasing the challenge of balancing budgets in downturns.
Budget Policy staff presented the committee with a sales-tax distribution overview and a general-fund update, highlighting statutory earmarks that have reduced the share of gross sales tax available to Idaho’s general fund.
Keith Bybee walked the committee through sales tax collections and statutory distributions. He reported total gross sales-tax collections rising (from about $3.1 billion in 2024 to projected $3.37 billion in 2025 and $3.5 billion in 2026) but noted that statutory earmarks reduce the portion reaching the general fund. Bybee said, "sales tax is your most stable, least volatile revenue source," but cautioned that the increasing number of statutory distributions means…
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