Idaho committee clears bill setting daily proration for homeowners exemption, shifts burden for big countywide value changes

State Representative Dustin Manwaring introduced House Bill 354 on Thursday, telling the Idaho House Revenue & Taxation Committee the bill would (1) establish a countywide market-value ratio requirement in statute and shift the burden of proof for some property tax appeals, and (2) put a daily proration method for homeowners (homestead) exemptions into statute when eligibility changes during the tax year.

The bill’s sponsor, Representative Dustin Manwaring, identified two primary elements: a statutory ratio for countywide market value and a burden-of-proof shift to the county for appeals when a county’s market value increases more than 10 percent and the county failed to use equalization methods. He said the proration language would require calculating a daily tax rate by dividing the tax-year levy times market value by 365 (or 366 in leap years) and multiplying that daily rate by the number of days the exemption applied.

Why it matters: committee members and witnesses said the measure…