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Idaho State Tax Commission reports FAST project exceeded ROI, asks for vehicles and IT upgrades
Summary
Tax Commission leaders told legislators the FAST tax-collection system has generated about $34.3 million in collections so far—exceeding an advertised return-on-investment—and asked for replacement vehicles, ITS security investments and equipment to support field operations and system security.
The Idaho State Tax Commission told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Feb. 18 that the state’s FAST tax-management project has exceeded the return‑on‑investment projected at rollout and requested funding for vehicle replacements and continued ITS infrastructure investment.
Chairman Jeff McCray told the committee the FAST implementation came in on time and that “since that time we've collected $34,287,416,” exceeding the project’s guaranteed return. McCray said the agency reverted $309,948 from a line item at the close of FY2024 and offered to provide the committee the ROI documentation.
Analyst Christopher LaHozet summarized the commission’s FY2026 enhancement requests: $16,000 ongoing for a five‑year lease to process certified mail at the Chinden campus; legislative action to change commissioner compensation (the analyst noted a $28,500 figure tied to a 5% governor recommendation); one-time vehicle and replacement requests (a light-duty truck and nine vehicles, with detailed mileage and justification spreadsheets provided to the committee); and ITS hardware and security investments totaling $300,700. LaHozet said if all enhancements are approved the total FY2026 increase would be $1,143,100.
Senator Cook and other members asked about the rising maintenance and contract-inflation costs tied to FAST. LaHozet and Chairman McCray said FAST is a licensed system that requires ongoing development and maintenance—security updates, legislative-change implementations and operational enhancements all contribute to ongoing licensing and support costs—and that the agency would provide more detail on the components of the ongoing maintenance figures.
LaHozet also noted that the commission has consolidated IT staff into a Technology and Innovation Bureau and moved several IT positions into central administration as part of recent organizational changes. The agency said vehicle replacements are operationally necessary: compliance staff use light-duty trucks to seize items that can be auctioned to satisfy delinquent tax liabilities and maintain field operations across five regional offices.
The commission did not receive final approval or a vote during the hearing. Committee members asked for the agency-supplied vehicle and ITS documentation that LaHozet had posted to the committee’s SharePoint and requested the ROI materials referenced by McCray.
