Rep. Branden Durst, D-Boise, introduced legislation that could create a one-year sales tax exemption for non-profit homeless shelters in Idaho beginning July 1, 2010, and ending June 30, 2011.
In his testimony before the House Revenue and Taxation Committee, Durst said due to the poor economic conditions, homeless shelters have seen an increase in demand for services and are struggling to keep up with the rising amount of requests. Durst urged lawmakers to consider creating new avenues for the poor to receive aid as the state budget for health and welfare efforts are being considered for additional cuts. He said that as Idahoans continue to lose their homes and struggle with finances, the state must allow faith-based shelters to step in and provide aid, which he believes will benefit the state as a whole.
“We’ve got people who are hurting, who are losing their homes and losing their jobs and they are going to rely on faith-based programs for services,” said Durst.
The plan has a potential cost of $15,000 in lost tax revenue from purchases made by the shelters. Durst noted, however, the state could see savings as more people use privately-funded shelters and not state resources for help.
When asked by IdahoReporter.com about the bill’s probability of passage in a legislative session focused on cutting budgets, Durst said “if a $15,000 fiscal note is the scapegoat for killing a bill, then that’s fine…but I certainly don’t believe in a budget that’s over $2 billion that $15,000 is an impediment.”
The legislation will again be heard by the committee at a later date.
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[...] Read IdahoReporter’s past coverage on Durst’s proposed tax exemption. [...]
[...] Read IdahoReporter.com’s initial story on the Durst bill here. [...]