Little wants to cut $350 million in income taxes
This is perhaps the most eye-catching promise in Phase Two of Little's "
The other proposals in the plan include eliminating the sales tax on groceries, which is supported by all three of the major candidates for the Republican gubernatorial nomination and which passed the Legislature this year but was vetoed by Gov.
Little released Phase 1, which was focused on health care policy, reducing regulations on businesses and proposals to keep young people in
That
"It depends upon the rate of growth in the state," Little said in an interview with the Times-News editorial board Thursday, when asked how long it would take.
Little didn't say exactly how he would want to restructure the state's income tax brackets but did say he would get the top rate down to somewhere in the 6-percents, as opposed to the current 7.4 percent top rate.
Little said reducing income tax rates is especially important now given the talk at the federal level of getting rid of the deduction for state and local taxes. The components of his plan, Little said, are pieces that are generally agreed upon by many in the Legislature -- many of them have come up, in various versions, in legislation proposed in recent sessions.
Little also said getting rid of the tax on groceries is a matter of keeping business in
"We're not competitive because nobody else taxes groceries," he said.
Little said an increased focus on collecting taxes on
Little was also skeptical about changing the law to let more cities and counties levy a local option sales tax; currently, that power is mostly limited to a handful of resort communities.
"A hodgepodge of different taxes creates problems and dislocation," he said.
If it were to be expanded -- and there hasn't been much appetite lately in the Legislature to do so -- Little said it would have to be regional in nature, rather than limited to one city that would get the benefits from taxing outsiders who come to shop.
"You want to be careful you're not in a situation where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer," he said.
Generally speaking, the idea of expanding local sales taxing authority has some support from officials and business leaders in regional hub cities such as
"By being the commercial and the retail hub they're getting that money right now," he said.
___
(c)2017 The Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho)
Visit The Times-News (Twin Falls, Idaho) at magicvalley.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Guarantee Insurance of Fort Lauderdale reorganizing under state supervision
State Farm, Allstate Send Hundreds Of Claims Workers To Assess Harvey Damage
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News