Property tax relief, like beauty, in eye of beholder

In the case of the governor's proposal, supported by all our local legislators when they voted for an even more onerous plan during the regular session, it will relieve all property tax payers of the school tax levy for maintenance and operations. In Bonner County that amounts to as much as a third of our property tax bill from last year. Granted, that sounds like a great break — true property tax relief. To pay for that, the plan increases the sales tax by 1 percentage point to 6 percent.

However, don't forget the fine print. There you will find that only 40 percent of Idaho properties are primary residences owned by Idaho residents. These are the same properties now eligible for the homestead exemption. The rest is business property and second homes owned mostly by non-residents. Since all property tax bills will be reduced, business and nonresidents' property will save along with Idaho homeowners. Yet those businesses and nonresidents pay very little sales tax. So, when the dust settles, many Idaho residents, mostly working and middle class, will actually be paying more tax than they were before this change. That's hardly the benefit promised by the governor.

It should be no surprise that the big winner is business property. Big business controls the Legislature. All you have to do to confirm this is look at the political contributions received by our local legislators. (They can be found on the Idaho Secretary of State's Web site.) One of our local representatives got 75 percent of campaign contributions in the last two elections from big business and special interest PACs.

It's not too late to prevent this travesty. Just let your legislator know you are against it. If they hear from enough of us they will change their vote. After all, Election Day is just three months away. It was Illinois Sen. Everett Dirksen who said, "When I feel the heat, I see the light."

BOB WYNHAUSEN

Sandpoint