Vogelsong letter: Sales tax exemptions

For over 30 years I have been pushing the Idaho Legislature to get rid of the freeloaders that pay no sales tax (we pay more because they don’t pay anything), and restore the original 3 percent of the sales tax to the schools, which was supposed to benefit from its original passage. Thank goodness for the League of Women Voters with their initiative to finally restructure the whole sales tax system. I would offer just one suggestion to ease the pain on the freeloaders, to-wit: Sunset the exemptions over two (or maximum of three) years to give them time to adjust their operations to compensate for the additional expense. That should take away some of the opposition. Above all, stop or sunset any and all new exemptions (eight to 10 years maximum).

Also, ladies: Might it be time to organize a class action suit against the Legislature for lack of upholding their oaths of office to abide by the state Constitution requiring a complete and thorough education for Idahoans? That would include safe school buildings wouldn’t it?

This story was originally published December 28, 2015 at 10:52 PM with the headline "Vogelsong letter: Sales tax exemptions."