Facts and Data
Average sales tax rate of Idaho and 6 surrounding states = 4.01%
Sales tax revenue lost to special interest exemptions is now GREATER than sales taxes collected.
1965 sales tax rate = 3% (17 exemptions)
2015 sales tax rate = 6% (more than 100 exemptions)
State spending on schools (FY2015) = $1.4 Billion
Idaho Tax Expenditures/Breaks = $2.4 Billion
Idaho’s revenue cuts = “$500 million less to invest each year in education, health care, public safety....”
Idaho ranks 49th in average state and local revenue provided per pupil.
In Idaho, more than 40 school districts operated on 4-day school weeks in 2014.
“The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly upon the intelligence of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature of Idaho, to establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools.”
(Idaho Constitution, Article IX)
In 2014, the Idaho Lottery contributed less than 2% of the state’s appropriation for education.
In Idaho, low-income families pay 8.2% of their income in taxes, while high-income families pay 6.5%.
School funding share of total state spending:
1990s = 34.1%
2012 = 26%
Idaho’s K-12 state funding is down 16% since 2008, including inflation.
Nationally, Idaho received D- grade for school finance.