Thank You, Idaho Legislature

A big part of this blog is criticizing politicians. When they get it wrong, they deserve to be called on the carpet and we do it here with politicians on both sides. But sometimes, criticism should give way to a hearty thank you:

Idaho homeowners will get another break on their property taxes in 2007, beyond the reductions they discovered this past week when they received their 2006 property tax bills. Idaho lawmakers raised the homeowner’s exemption from property taxes this year for the first time since 1982, bumping the top amount to $75,000, up from $50,000. At the same time, they tied the exemption to the rate of inflation in Idaho home prices. And now the figures are in from the Idaho House Price Index: Idaho had the third-fastest-growing home prices in the nation during the most recent year of data, and next year’s homeowner’s exemption will rise to $89,325.

The 2007 exemption figure means a homeowner whose house is valued at $200,000 will pay taxes on just $110,675 of the value. “I think it’s fair,” said Charlie Burnham, a 74-year-old military retiree from Coeur d’Alene who’s owned his older home since 1992.

Fair indeed. I missed it, but with indexing, I think we’re going to allow people to keep their homes without being destroyed by property taxes. It’s a good idea and the best thing to come out of the last session on taxes.

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