[Vision2020] Who Gets Soaked?

[Ron Force]

September 12, 2010
Our View: When taxes seep from the system, guess who gets soaked?
 - Idaho StatesmanWhen one whistleblower complains, it's a little easier to 
write it off as the act of a disgruntled worker.
When a legislator takes up the cause and files a lawsuit, it's a little easier 
to dismiss the move as political posturing.
But what does it mean when the roster of whistleblowers continues to grow?
It  means, in the case of the State Tax Commission, that a serious  credibility 
gap keeps right on growing. This is the agency that is  supposed to collect tax 
dollars from people or businesses that won't pay  up. Idahoans should be able to 
trust the commission to pursue tax  cheats without playing favorites - not just 
to collect dollars for  schools and other needed state services, but to make 
sure everybody pays  their fair share.
That's how it should work, anyway. But eight  current or former employees have 
signed affidavits in a lawsuit against  the commission, The Times-News in Twin 
Falls reported last week. The  longtime employees echo what is by now a familiar 
theme: The commission  has cut sweetheart deals with companies that have 
protested their tax  bills.
Among the "highlights," as reported by The Times-News:
®  Commission manager Barbara Nichols said one Idahoan received a $1.6  million 
break before an audit was issued - backing up a claim made by a  former 
commission auditor.
® Paul Chugg, an auditor, said he  protested a commission decision to write off 
$400,000 in penalties - and  was threatened with disciplinary action.
None of this comes from  out of nowhere. The complaints more or less jibe with 
claims made in  2008 by commission auditor Stan Howland. He alleged that several 
of the  commission's secret "compromise and closing agreements" cost Idaho  
taxpayers anywhere from $46,000 to $680,000 a pop.
Howland's  claims caught the attention of Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow, who  
enlisted former state Supreme Court justice (and one-time Democratic  
gubernatorial candidate) Robert Huntley to file a lawsuit challenging  the 
constitutionality of these preferential deals.
While  politicians are motivated by a desire for publicity, the same does not  
necessarily hold true for career Tax Commission employees. Chugg talks  about a 
"public duty" to testify. Another longtime auditor, Terry  Harvey, laments 
continued failings in the system that result in "unequal  taxation." It's hard 
to fathom much career gain that comes from going  publicagainst current or past 
bosses.
And that gives their claims sufficient weight to justify a thorough public 
airing.
After  all, these are public dollars - a tax debt that should be shared, if  not 
gleefully, then at least equitably. The mounting claims suggest a  system that 
allows the wealthy and the powerful to bend the rules into a  shape of their 
choosing. When they get their way, the need for money  for school textbooks or 
Medicaid prescriptions doesn't go away. It  simply gets shifted to the rest of 
us.
When the bigwigs play to win - and prevail - the less politically connected 
among us get played for suckers.
That's  why you should care when the system is criticized by eight longtime Tax  
Commission employees. And that's why legislators ought to care as well.
Especially  when public education and public health programs are scrambling for  
dollars more than ever before. And especially when some politicos and  special 
interests are talking about injecting more tax dollars into  state coffers, by 
eliminating some sales tax exemptions or by  aggressively pursuing sales taxes 
on Internet purchases.
Before  Idaho pursues any new taxes, common sense and basic fairness call for  
collecting the existing taxes consistently and fairly.
That's how  things should work. More and more, the evidence suggests Idaho's tax  
system works best for those who know how to work the system."Our  View" is the 
editorial position of the Idaho Statesman. It is an  unsigned opinion expressing 
the consensus of the Statesman's editorial  board. To comment or suggest a 
topic, e-mail  editorial at idahostatesman.com.


      
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