Stan Howland's charges that his employer of 29 years routinely cut sweetheart deals with big corporations at the expense of ordinary taxpayers put an unwelcome spotlight on the Idaho State Tax Commission.

"We've got a used car lot up here," the auditor said last May after hand-delivering his first 17-page whistleblower report to Gov. Butch Otter and e-mailing it to every lawmaker.

The Legislature takes up the issue this week, as two tax commissioners testify about their tax-cutting deals and a Senate committee holds a hearing on Senate Bill 1128, a bipartisan reform measure. Howland, however, refused an invitation to testify because he says the bill falls far short of what's needed.

"I will do absolutely nothing to help pass a bill that I so strongly oppose," Howland said.

Facing his March 27 retirement date, Howland, 61, says, "It bothers me that I didn't get anything accomplished - or got very little accomplished. But if I didn't take every step possible, I would regret it for the rest of my life. Now, I won't."

Howland is a "take-no-prisoners type of fella," said his only sibling, Steve, who flies firefighting DC-7 tankers. "I've always considered myself pretty fearless, but I can't hold a candle to Stan," said Steve Howland, who lives in Cove, Ore. "I'm so stinking proud of him."

The Howland boys grew up in Cambridge, where their father, Lawson, was a county commissioner and school board chairman. The family raised Suffolk sheep for breed stock.

"Rams are pretty bullheaded," Steve Howland said. "I used to call Stan a head-butter. If he thinks he's right, he will not back off."

Stan Howland spent 10 years as an air traffic controller, the job his father held in the Pacific for the Army Air Corps during World War II. But an eye problem diverted him to Boise State University and an accounting degree. He joined the Tax Commission in 1980. He audits income taxes paid by multistate corporations.

This is Howland's second blow on the whistle. In 1996, he was the insider who helped the legislative auditor's office write a report blasting the practice of allowing any one of four tax commissioners to approve confidential tax-cutting deals.

Fearing for his job, Howland met secretly at auditor Tom Haddock's home. Now controller of the State Insurance Fund, Haddock is wary of discussing Howland in light of the new controversy but said, "Stan has high principles and is a good man. He's strong mentally and emotionally, and he's doing what he thinks is right. I admire him."

Another auditor on the 1996 case, Anne Chmieloweic, now works in the private sector and is less guarded. "Here's what Stan Howland is all about: He doesn't want all taxpayers to pay more when he can see that some - over and over again - aren't paying their share."

Chmieloweic said pressure from the Tax Commission and then-Attorney General Al Lance watered down the report, removing important details. The supervisor of the 1996 audit, now-retired Larry Kirk, agreed the report was weakened. Still, Kirk said, the audit forced the commission to adopt a policy that two commissioners approve tax deals. "The internal control was horrible," Kirk said.

Kirk said taxpayers with deep pockets benefitted. "The little guy kind of got screwed," Kirk said. "He could have the same issue, but he didn't have the money to hire attorneys or the time to argue the case himself. So, he probably would pay, where the big guys could fight and compromise."

Now, Kirk says, "I was glad to see Stan come forward again." During 32 years working for the Legislature, Kirk encountered two types of whistleblowers: Those who "just had a beef," often petty and motivated by personal animosity; and those who believed the state was wasting or losing money and "the system could be fixed in a positive way. Stan was the latter."

Howland, a father of three and grandfather of five who never misses a grandkid's game, is more complex than his crusader image. He speaks softly, even if his words are sharp, and looks like a bean counter: ice-blue eyes, gray hair, rumpled shirts.

His supervisor at the Tax Commission, Reva Tisdale, said Howland is a talented auditor, trainer of junior employees and "extremely well-liked throughout this agency."

In 1984, Howland founded a campaign to raise Christmas money for families chosen by the Salvation Army, soliciting employees with a sandwich board sign and Santa hat. In the 1990s, a commission employee in his 30s was diagnosed with cancer. Howland was bedside when the man died and helped raise $10,000 for his widow.

For all the respect shown by fellow auditors, Howland's tenacity rankles tax commissioners past and present. The current commissioners dismissed his critique as naive. All four declined comment for this story, as did former Commissioner DuWayne Hammond, whom Howland blames for initiating the practice of unjustified deals in the 1990s.

Howland knocks the new reform bill authored by Sens. Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, and Kate Kelly, D-Boise, because it would continue to allow confidential deals. Idaho law keeps secret the identity of taxpayers who get breaks. Some other states disclose settlements. California, for example, makes public any reduction in tax liability over $500.

Howland also faults Gov. Butch Otter for appointing a single fact-finder in response to Howland's complaints - certified public accountant LaVern Gentry - instead of naming a five-member independent panel. And he knocks minority Democrats for lacking courage to hold hearings on their own.

Hill chairs the Senate tax committee and met with Howland as part of his own inquiry. Howland characterizes reports by Hill, the Tax Commission, Gentry and a legal opinion from Attorney General Lawrence Wasden as a cover-up.

Howland stepped up his criticism in a Dec. 11 letter to Sen. Kelly, alleging a "corruption scandal" and a commission acting in "an illegal manner detrimental to all but a handful of citizens of this state."

Hill replied with a letter calling Howland a "disgruntled auditor" and scolding him for over-the-top rhetoric. "Every review of your evidence has not revealed any illegalities," Hill wrote. "I have no tolerance for your defamation of everyone who disagrees with you."

Howland says Hill, a CPA whose firm represents taxpayers before the commission, is conflicted. "I have zero respect for Senator Hill," he says.

Hill, widely respected by colleagues for ethical rectitude, replied mildly: "As long as I agreed, as I do in many ways, I was wonderful. And if I don't agree, I have a conflict of interest. And I probably do. But I felt it was my duty to my colleagues, because of my background and as chair of the tax committee, to investigate the issue."

Hill said he respects Howland's sincerity and passion but is troubled by his rhetoric. Absent Howland's whistleblowing, Hill said, SB 1128 would never have been drafted.

"I think the commissioners are going to be more accountable knowing they're under closer scrutiny," Hill said. "We'll have a better Tax Commission because of what he did."

The Hill-Kelly bill requires the presence of two tax commissioners, a deputy attorney general, a tax policy specialist and an auditor for final review of any tax-cutting deal over $50,000. It mandates a summary to the full commission, including recommendations from staff. And the bill requires annual reports to the governor and Legislature on settlements over $50,000.

Howland said he's ready to quietly retire to a life of watching grandkids grow, hiking and hoping to regain his 15-handicap in golf. He looks forward to traveling with wife, Linda, recently retired after 30 years with Hewlett-Packard.

Recently, Howland told his lawyer, "I've had a bellyful of your Democrats, a bellyful of the Republicans, a bellyful of the press. I'm done."

Howland's lawyer is Bob Huntley, a former Idaho Supreme Court Justice and 1998 Democratic candidate for governor. Huntley, working for free, said he had to urge Howland to carry on several times. Huntley contends the tax deals revealed by Howland violate a constitutional requirement for "equal application" of tax law.

Frank Edmunds, a retired colleague from the Boise air traffic control tower, said he's glad Howland is ready to let go so he can focus on golf and hiking with his friend.

Edmunds said Howland's character is "impeccable" and salutes him for standing up for ordinary taxpayers.

Still, Edmunds doesn't have much use for Howland's moniker. "I told Stan I don't care for the word 'whistleblower.' I think 'patriot' is a better word."

Dan Popkey: 377-6438