FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS
Lewiston Tribune
November 6, 2022
Jana Schultz of Moscow claims that the Latah County Treasurer printed last year's tax bills in error and wants more transparency.
This statement is not true. 20,000 accurate tax bills were sent in November 2021. There were no errors. What better transparency can there be since all 20,000 tax bills were sent to registered addresses via the US Postal Service?
Jana, please provide proof of the inaccurate tax bills. Otherwise, your statement is disingenuous and a lie.
Did Latah County and Commissioner Tom Lamar reject $1.9 million from COVID-19 funds that could have been used to reduce property taxes by 17%?
No. The funds were not allowed to be used for property tax relief. This letter by former Latah County Clerk Henrianne Westberg in the Lewiston Tribune on Nov. 6, 2022 explains:
Singling out Lamar
Recent campaign disinformation aimed at Tom Lamar regarding Latah County not accepting money from the state of Idaho for property tax relief needs clarification.
Early in the pandemic, the federal government, through the CARES Act, directed financial assistance to all U.S. counties with specific auditable requirements. They also provided money directly to the state of Idaho with specific guidelines that the money was not to be used for property tax relief, but for financial support needed to offset economic problems caused by the pandemic.
After carefully consulting with their legal counsel and other elected officials, the Latah County Board of Commissioners unanimously decided that the risk of having to possibly pay the money back was too great to accept the CARES Act funds that the state was offering counties and cities.
Instead, to support property tax relief, the board voted to not take the allowable 3% tax increase. When they set the budget for that year, they only added the new construction value onto the rolls. This action by the board helped to continue their goal of keeping property taxes as low as possible while still meeting the statutory demands and needs of the county without risk of repayment.
To single out Lamar on this countywide decision was intentionally unfair, and most unfortunate. Please join me in voting for Lamar for Latah County commissioner.
Henrianne Westberg
Moscow
Why is Latah County challenging the Idaho State Tax Commission on how the
homeowner’s exemption is calculated?
Idaho House Bill 562 (2020) clearly states that the homeowner’s exemption will be “effective upon the date of application.” Latah County applies the homeowner’s exemption to properties upon the date of the application which we feel meets the legislative intent and is the fairest and most equitable application of that bill. For example, if on December 20 a rental house is purchased and becomes the primary residence of the homeowner and application was made on that day; that tax parcel becomes eligible for a homeowner’s exemption on that day, the homeowner’s exemption is pro-rated and given for 11 days of that year. Prior to December 20, that property did not qualify for a homeowner’s exemption because it was a rental and not the primary residence of the owner.
Latah County challenged the interpretation of the Idaho State Tax Commission who says that on this same example, the homeowner’s exemption should be applied as of January 1 of that calendar year and that pro-ration is not allowed. That would force illegally applying the homeowner’s exemption for the 354 days that the property did not qualify for a homeowner’s exemption because it was non-owner occupied.
In addition, Latah County obtained transcripts from the Idaho Senate Local Government & Taxation Committee, where this bill was reviewed and approved, which also demonstrates the plain meaning and intent of HB 562 was to allow for pro-rating, the only fair way.
The latest legal briefs filed by Latah County Civil Attorney Brad Rudley and an Amicus brief in support of Latah County filed by the Idaho Association of Counties may be found here:
https://latahcountyid.gov/assessor/