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Friday, August 22, 2008

parking / state Guv gets street parking

Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Fri, Aug 22, 2008 at 1:00 PM

No more hitching his State Police suburban to the hitching post next to the Borah Building. Or, parking on the sidewalk, which would be a more accurate way to say that. The ISP truck that is assigned to Gov. Butch Otter now has a spot of its own.

click to enlarge

The City of Boise has dedicated two spots on 8th Street to ISP for the governor's security detail. No one is parked there today because Otter is in Sun Valley golfing. It's for a good cause, the Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament. And hey, it's a golf tourney in Sun Valley with heavy corporate sponsorship, so it's a great opportunity to press the flesh.

In case you missed it, Otter had been parked (it's not his car, it's a state police rig) on the sidewalk since the Legislature kicked him out of his offices in the State Capitol for two years. Idaho State Police told BW that the spot on the wide sidewalk near the backdoor was a security precaution, recommended by none other than the Secret Service.

But the city complained (and got complaints) and an awkward back and forth between the state and the city ensued, for, like a year. Now everyone is friends again and in about a year Otter will get his driveway across the street back.

ISP has also requested a street spot at the Supreme Court building.

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Thursday, August 21, 2008

state Howland responds

Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 9:43 AM

Multi-state tax auditor Stan Howland, in short e-mail to media, cast doubt on Gentry report alleging Gentry has more conflicts of his own:

"It has come to my attention that Mr. Gentry sits on the Federal & State Taxation Committee of the Idaho Society of Certified Public Accountants. Also on this committee are Commissioners Chigbrow and Grant, along with Tax Commission Policy Manager, Dan John. This, along with the fact that Mr. Gentry has represented many clients before the Tax Commission, removes any doubt as to his conflict of interest in conducting this latest 'review.'"

While Gentry is on the committee, Chigbrow, Grant and John are listed as mere "liaisons" on the Society's Web site.

Otter, has ordered a clarification of the tax commission's settlement process and more reporting on tax settlements to the tax committee, according to an AP story in the Times-News. Of course, some key legislators have already dismissed the entire affair.

Howland is still calling for a bipartisan investigation of the Tax Commission. We'll upload the documentation, when we figure out how.

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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

state / taxes Gentry report released

Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 4:42 PM

LaVern Gentry says the Idaho State Tax Commission is following its policies in giving regular and significant out-of-state corporate income tax breaks, but that some review and clarification is warranted.

We just got the report, via the Governor's Office. Read it here.

"My conclusion reached is that the Idaho State Tax Commission's above actions are not detrimental to sound tax policy and that the Commission did not misuse 'Doubt as to liability.'"

Gentry says the comp and close agreements that veteran tax auditor Stan Howland revealed are "fair and reasonable," that there was a "doubt as to liability" in several cases he reviewed, allowing the tax commissioners to compromise the settlement and he has a list of suggestions that the governor and the Legislature might consider.

A near quorum in the the Tax Commission's multi-state corporate tax division disagrees, charging that there is not doubt as to liability and that the settlements are patently sketchy, if not outright illegal.

We're still reading the report and seeking comment...

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