On Tuesday, State budget officials said about $14.5 million in state revenues that should have gone toward reducing Idaho property taxes this year isn’t going out to taxpayers yet because of reporting challenges with the state’s massive new Luma business, HR and IT system.
The Idaho Capital Sun reports the $14.5 million was flagged Tuesday during the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee’s first day of interim fall budget meetings at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.
Because of reporting delays attributed to the Luma system, the $14.5 million will be added to any potential surplus next year, meaning it could be available for property tax cuts in another year.
Under House Bill 292, the property tax reduction bill passed during the 2023 legislative session, a state budget surplus is supposed to be directed toward cutting property taxes through what is called a surplus eliminator.
State officials had an Aug. 31 deadline to report the surplus numbers to the State Controller’s Office, but were only able to verify and report a surplus of $76.4 million – not the full amount of $91 million.
