BOISE - Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter has signed a sweeping $200 million tax cut into law.
Otter approved the measure on Monday. The new law includes an emergency clause, making it retroactive to Jan. 1.
The plan reduces personal income and corporate tax rates and creates an Idaho child tax credit. The law is designed to offset the increase in taxes Idaho families are expected to pay under the recently signed Republican tax plan signed by President Donald Trump.
Sen. Brent Hill called the bill's passage "exciting" during the signing ceremony Monday morning.
"We've gone five years without any significant tax relief, and yet we have seen some significant increases in our revenues for the state. We're doing some good things," he said. "In the meantime, we have been able to increase greatly our funding for public education, which was a top priority for the governor and for many of us in the Legislature. We have been able to replenish our reserve funds, which was also important so we can prepare for the next downturn. But in the meantime, we've got some tax revenues that we need to return to the people who paid those tax revenues."
Changing the state's tax brackets would lower Idaho's $3.5 billion general fund by $159.6 million and implementing the child tax credit would slash the fund by an additional $42.3 million - totaling nearly $200 million. However, lawmakers are hoping to expand the tax credit from $130 to $205 before the end of session, which means the tax cut law could jump to $225 million.