Grocery tax repeal bill heads Idaho governor’s desk
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BOISE — Idaho is one step closer to joining 37 other states that do not have a sales tax on groceries.
The Idaho House of Representatives passed a bill Monday to repeal the state’s six percent tax on groceries. The vote was 51-19.
If Gov. Butch Otter doesn’t veto the bill, the repeal of sales tax would take effect June 1, 2018.
Otter has said the state can’t afford to lose the grocery tax as the state collects about $194 million every year.
“People buy groceries in good times and bad,” Otter wrote in a March 16 letter to legislative leaders, “so the tax provides a steady source of revenue for the essential services of state government. As revenue fluctuates from less-stable sources it could be more difficult to fund our commitments.”
The bill now heads to Otter’s desk.