Grocery Tax Repeal

Time to give Idahoans relief at the register!

Grocery Tax Repeal:

Why is Idaho’s legislative leadership refusing to let all 105 of us vote on repealing the grocery tax and delivering immediate relief at the cash register from rising inflation? That’s the $406 million question.

Many Idahoans are asking the same thing. Repealing the grocery tax would offer direct, immediate relief, especially as inflation continues to erode purchasing power. Yet, despite strong public support and multiple efforts by lawmakers, legislative leadership has repeatedly blocked a full vote on the issue.

Why is Leadership Blocking the Vote?

1. Revenue Concerns – The grocery tax generates significant revenue for the state, and leadership may be hesitant to remove that funding source without an alternative in place. However, Idaho’s budget is filled with wasteful spending that should be eliminated before taxing essential groceries. Instead of burdening hardworking Idahoans at the checkout line, we should focus on cutting unnecessary expenses and prioritizing fiscal responsibility.

2. Governor’s Opposition – Governor Little campaigned on repealing the grocery tax but has yet to deliver. Instead, he has expressed a preference for tax rebates and income tax reductions over a full repeal. Some legislative leaders may be aligning with his position. This raises the question: Could legislative leadership and the executive branch be two wings of the same bird, working together to block real tax relief for Idahoans?

3. Backroom Deals & Priorities – Leadership controls which bills get a hearing and a vote. They may prioritize other tax policies or have political reasons to avoid a straightforward repeal. Instead of advancing meaningful tax relief, they push bills that offer mere bookkeeping for breadcrumbs—like those now being sponsored by Rep. Monks, Rep. Scott, Senator Anthon, and Senator Nichols—while ignoring the real solution: fully repealing the grocery tax.

4. Political Leverage – Keeping grocery tax repeal as a bargaining chip for future negotiations on budgets or other tax policies may be part of leadership’s strategy. I have personally witnessed the political games of holding bills hostage to push their own priorities through both chambers, rather than allowing a fair and transparent vote on real tax relief for Idahoans.

   What Can Be Done?

1. Public Pressure – The more Idahoans voice their support, the harder it is for leadership to ignore.

2. Targeted Elections – Replacing leadership members who block the repeal in future elections may be necessary.

The fact that all 105 legislators are not even allowed to vote on it is a failure of transparent governance. Idahoans deserve a say in this critical issue, especially when grocery prices are rising faster than wages. The following chart illustrates how much has been paid in grocery tax versus how much has been returned to taxpayers through the credit. Idaho has only returned 51% of your money through the credit to those who knew to file for it, while retaining 49% to fund government expansion.

The Gang of 8 has been working diligently to bring the Grocery Tax Repeal to the 2025 session. I had the bill drafted back in August 2024 to ensure we could get it to House Tax and Revenue Committee Chair, Rep. Cannon, as soon as possible.

For now, I will share only the first three pages of the six-page bill. We can’t even get a hearing to assign it a bill number and have it recorded in the journal unless we file it as a personal bill—which never receives a full committee hearing. Unfortunately, this is all I have to share at this time.

Here’s my opinion, and I know it may trigger some legislators.

There are two kinds of representatives: those who work for the government and those who work for the people. Serving the people is far more challenging because it comes with intimidation and pressure—especially when we refuse to stay silent or vote against expanding government.

This is exactly what you’ve witnessed with those of us fighting to reject our pay raise and repeal the grocery tax—measures that provide immediate, tangible relief to the people.

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Below are links to the live floor debate on the Grocery Tax Credit, along with the bill text. I have also included additional links that provide more insight into Idaho’s revenue.

House Floor Debate on Grocery Tax Credit

H61 the original GTC

H231 the amended GTC

General Fund Revenue Book

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Next Week:

You will see maintenance bills move through both the House and Senate floors. I have voted to approve these bills at $12.6 billion, even though there is significant waste that should be cut.

However, I will not be voting for some of the enhancement bills because I made a commitment not to support additional full-time positions, federal funding, or any increase exceeding 1.2%. Many of these enhancement bills include additional pay increases, even after we already approved state employee pay raises ranging close to 5%, with law enforcement receiving an 8% increase—all of which were included in the maintenance budget.

Idaho's state government is already the largest sole employer in the state, and I refuse to add to that number.

I also want to inform you that when we vote for enhancement bills, they automatically become part of the maintenance budget the following year. Unless we take action to eliminate waste from the maintenance budget, it will continue to grow year after year, further expanding government spending.

Links to Maintenance Bills:

Maintenance Bill 1 Maintenance Bill 2 Maintenance Bill 3

Maintenance Bill 4 Maintenance Bill 5 Maintenance Bill 6

Maintenance Bill 7 Maintenance Bill 8

Maintenance Bill 9 Maintenance Bill 10

My suggestion when clicking on the link is to first read the Statement of Purpose, as it provides a clear breakdown of what the bill includes.

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My Bible Verse of the Week: Romans 1:28-32

Quote of the week:

Song of the Week: