Not long ago, Sen. John Tippets, R-Montpelier, found himself in a peculiar spot. Last summer and fall, influential lawmakers and the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry made it clear that phasing out or eliminating Idaho's tax on businesses' personal property would be a focus of the 2013 legislative session.

Tippets is a public affairs manager for fertilizer producer Agrium. It's the parent company of Nu-West Industries, which pays the biggest personal property tax bill in Caribou County, east of Pocatello. Tippets represents the company on the board of IACI, which has championed getting rid of the tax.

Still, Tippets' view on the issue was clear. More than any other county in Idaho, Caribou County depends on personal property tax revenue. He had to support his constituents.

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