Idaho Residents May Soon Pay a Tax When It Rains
Have you heard of RAIN TAX? Yeah. It's a thing. Rain Tax is a mandatory charge imposed on property owners, businesses, churches, and a whole lot more when it rains. The more runoff you have, the more you're charged. So if you have a lot of concrete or asphalt you're going to get hit hard.
Rain Tax started back in the 1990s in Germany. It eventually found its way into Italy and now the good ole United States of America.
Maryland was the first state in America to make Rain Tax a law back in 2012 but other states are starting the process of bringing this in to help allow stormwater utility charges offset the cost of owning, maintaining, and improving local stormwater infrastructure. And it’s a fee, so it’s not tax deductible which means it’s unlimited, so this theoretically, 10 or 20 years from now could be the biggest tax hike states across America have ever seen.
Parts of Illinois jumped on to the Rain Tax just a year after Maryland and the possibility of RAIN TAX in a lot of states around the country has started to surface lately. So what does that mean for us here in Idaho?
- Is this a thing here in Idaho? NO
- Is there a bill pending or being introduced in Idaho? NOT YET
- Are states across the country quickly adopting this law? YES
So the good news so far is that this IS NOT an immediate threat but you know how this stuff goes right? If there's a way to squeeze more money out of us, they'll find it and with other states quickly adopting the Rain Tax, its probable to think its only a matter of time before this will be an issue here in Idaho. If and when that moment starts up, we'll keep you posted.