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Larry LaRocco on Tax Reform
Democratic Senate Challenger; previously US Rep.
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Risch got undisclosed personal $53,000 from his tax relief
Jim Risch said he would drop out of the race if an accusation over property taxes made by challenger Larry LaRocco turned out to be true. The issue is whether Risch got $53,000 in tax relief last year.LaRocco said, “When he was governor he passed
a property tax relief bill where he personally benefited at least $53,000, but he never disclosed it to the people of Idaho,” said LaRocco.
“Well, if I got $53,000 out of that bill, I’ll drop out of this race and if you’re wrong you should do the
same,“ said Risch.
NewsChannel 7 took a look; we found 13 pieces of property that would fall under the 2006 tax relief umbrella. According to LaRocco’s property valuation, Risch totaled $53,295 in tax breaks. But some of Risch’s property falls under
Idaho’s agricultural exemption which means it’s used for farming or grazing--and that makes the property value much lower. Using the same math with the lower agriculture value numbers, Risch actually got a relief of little more than $5,000.
Source: 2008 Idaho Senate Debate reported on KTVB Idaho News
, Oct 22, 2008
Provide a tax credit to producers of renewable energy
One tool that the government can use to ease the transition toward energy independence is tax incentives. A recent example is the Production Tax Credit (PTC), first passed in 1992, which provides a tax credit to the producer of renewable energy.
This type of tax credit encourages research and production of alternative energy sources by making them economically viable relative to dirtier technologies. To effectively encourage growth in the alternative energy industry the government should
enact tax credits with firm and predictable trajectories. They target specific technologies rather than allowing the market to work. Currently the PTC applies to a list of existing technologies, with a higher credit for “more renewable” energy sources
(such as wind and geothermal). This list should be adaptable to new innovations. When used correctly, tax incentives can be a powerful tool to encourage production of energy from alternative sources and move the country towards energy independence.
Source: 2008 Senate campaign website, laroccoforsenate.com, “Issues”
, May 14, 2008
Page last updated: Aug 30, 2017