Income Tax Bill Heads to Governor as Attempt to Add Grocery Tax Repeal Fails

House Bill 436, an income tax cut bill, has cleared the Idaho Senate and is headed to Gov. Brad Little’s Desk, but an effort by Sen. Christy Zito (R-Hammett) and Democrat Senators to add repealing the grocery tax to the bill failed.

Zito told the body during her debate that it was necessary and that it was the most consistent topic of discussion. However, Sen. Jim Rice (R-Caldwell) argued that it was a “hostile attempt” to change the bill.

Senate Pro-Tem Chuck Winder (R-Meridian) also voted against Zito’s motion and said it would increase taxes because the grocery tax credit would go away.

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The motion to change the bill failed on a vote of 8-26, with all Republicans, minus Zito, voting against the measure and all Democrats voting in favor of the motion.

Idaho Dispatch asked Zito about the effort to add grocery tax repeal to the bill and why she felt it was the time to do it during the income tax repeal debate. Here is what Zito told us,

The people of Idaho, on all sides of the political spectrum, have been demanding the repeal of the state’s tax on groceries. Inflation is killing our Idaho families and what better way to help them than to stop taxing them on the items that keep them alive, their groceries?

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Little promised during his campaign that he would sign the grocery tax repeal, and this legislature has failed every year to get the bill to his desk. I promised my constituents that I would do everything possible to bring them as much tax relief as possible, and one of those efforts is to repeal the tax on groceries.

I am grateful to the Senators who supported my effort today and disappointed in those who refused to listen to the citizens of Idaho.

During the debate on HB 436 itself, Rice opened the debate and said it was time to send some of the money back to Idahoans.

Sen. Grant Burgoyne (D-Boise) spoke against the bill. He said he might favor the one-time rebate, but felt more needed to be done in education with Idaho’s large tax surplus.

Several other Senators spoke in favor of the bill, and several others spoke against it. In the end, the bill passed on a party-line vote of 27-8.