Governor Little delivered his 2019 State of the State address and released his proposed budget. I was encouraged by his stated commitment to education and public lands (including meaningful proposed increases to teacher salaries and boosted funding for literacy programs). Unfortunately, due to last year’s tax cut and associated withholding problems, we are now facing a serious revenue shortfall, and within days of the address JFAC reduced the Governor’s revenue forecast by $93 million (and 6,000 federally employed Idahoans not receiving their paychecks due to the shutdown will not help our revenue situation). This shortfall makes it less likely we’ll be able to pursue all the investments outlined by the Governor. It also means you may be getting an unpleasant surprise in your April tax bill as many Idahoans have under-withheld under the new tax law. The Tax Commission has developed a new W-4 form, available here, which all employers are encouraged to switch to immediately.
