Op-Ed: No one likes taxes, but Idaho treats taxpayers right

No one likes taxes. The overwhelming majority of us just want to pay what we owe or file and wait for our refund. It is voluntary compliance, and the less time it takes the better.

At the federal level we have champions like U.S. Senator Mike Crapo, the Republican ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, working to untangle the challenges and delays Americans face in getting their federal tax returns processed by the Internal Revenue Service. At the state level, Governor Brad Little, legislators, and Idaho taxpayers expect and receive a much higher level of customer service from the Idaho State Tax Commission.

Here are just a few of the resources available to help the Tax Commission efficiently serve Idaho taxpayers:

Refunds: After you’ve filed your Idaho income tax return, you can track your refund online at tax.idaho.gov/refund. E-filers can start tracking about four business days after filing; those filing a paper return can start about three weeks after filing. You’ll need to provide your Social Security number and the refund amount you expect.

Rebates: Governor Little has asked the Tax Commission to begin issuing rebates by the end of March. The rebate amount is either 12% of the 2020 taxes or $75 per taxpayer and each dependent, whichever is greater. When rebates start to get issued, you can visit tax.idaho.gov and click on the links in the Tax Rebate button to check the status. Idaho taxpayers can even donate their rebates back to the state for public schools, transportation or parks and recreation.

Tax Help: The average hold time for callers is approximately 10 minutes, though it gets busier as we get closer to the Monday, April 18 filing deadline. Call us at 208-334-7660 in the Boise area or toll-free at 800-972-7660. We also offer an email option. Emails sent to taxrep@tax.idaho.gov are usually answered by the next business day.

There are vast differences between the way Idaho does business and the way our federal government operates. Here at the Tax Commission, we want our customers to know about and use the resources available to them. We issue press releases regularly throughout the tax season to provide the most up-to-date information, and we maintain a year-round customer service call center. We don’t make excuses to the taxpayer; we solve problems.

In addition, our focus is on the part of our agency that processes the returns. Known internally as the Revenue Operations Division, these employees process the more than 800,000 tax returns that need no extra attention. As the heart and soul of the Tax Commission, the work of these employees makes up 96% of all tax return processing. The remaining 4% is comprised of what we call essential agency functions, audit and collection, which exist to ensure fairness in the administration of Idaho’s tax laws and rules.

No one likes taxes, but Idaho knows how to administer them the right way. From the fiscally conservative tax policies of Governor Little and the Legislature to the rank-and-file employees of the Tax Commission who implement those policies, Idaho taxpayers are getting fair and efficient customer service. And we all agree: the less time it takes, the better.

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Jeff McCray is chairman of the Idaho State Tax Commission.