BOISE -- Whether through cheating or ignorance, taxpayers are shorting Idaho by about $250 million annually at a time when Gov. Butch Otter is cutting budgets and schools, prisons and other state agencies are clamoring for more money.
That's the uncollected "tax gap" estimated by the Idaho Tax Commission.
Tax Commission Chairman Royce Chigbrow says this gap undermines faith in the system and is unfair to people who are paying their fair share.
The agency says not all of that amount is collectible, but figures it could probably bring in an additional $64.5 million if it had more staff and a few policy changes, some of which are politically difficult -- like collecting taxes on Internet sales.
Chigbrow says the basic rule is, for an additional $1 million investment in staff, his employees could bring in $10 million more.
