Analyst: Idaho has reasonable taxes but outdated policies

A tax policy analyst told Idaho’s leading policy watchdog group that the state benefits from relatively low taxes but needs to modernize and simplify its tax code in fundamental areas, especially its low threshold, seven-tier personal income tax.

Analyst Jared Walczak of the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation told the Associated Taxpayers of Idaho conference that the state’s income tax “still reflects a legacy put in place at a time when the average income was significantly lower than it is now.”

State personal income tax rates start at 1.6 percent at a taxable income of just $1,454. The top rate of 7.4 percent kicks in at an income of $10,905.

“If you care about keeping taxes low, the fewer the brackets, the easier it is to manage,” Walczak said. He said policymakers could mitigate tax impacts that consolidating rates might have on lower income wage earners by implementing earned income tax credits or a zero tax bracket for the lowest group.

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article117958578.html