BOISE, ID—This week, the Idaho Freedom Foundation released a report that details more than $144 million in wasteful spending by Boise city officials. Said wasteful spending leads to high property taxes for residents and businesses.
The 208-page report, “Are you kidding me, Boise?”, reveals how city officials waste tax dollars on myriad pet projects. Select findings from the report include:
“Are you kidding me, Boise?” is available for free download at SMARTBoise.org.
Report author Lindsay Atkinson states that IFF’s findings should concern all Boise residents, especially those struggling to pay their property taxes.
Said Atkinson, “Boise officials spend money left and right on projects that they think will make Boise the most livable city in the country. The bottom line, though: All this spending simply takes more and more money from Boiseans. Low- and fixed-income individuals, including homeowners and renters, are having a hard time continuing to live in the city with rising taxes.”
Atkinson, who leads IFF’s city-focused policy project, also warned that state lawmakers who are keen to let cities have local-option taxing authority should take note of Boise’s out-of-control budget.
“City officials already waste tens of millions of dollars, yet they are asking for more via a local option tax authority. How much is enough, Boise?” Atkinson questioned. “The city does not need more money to waste, nor do taxpayers need to have more taken from their wallets to fund pet projects."
The Idaho Freedom Foundation is Idaho’s leading voice for taxpayers. The foundation, founded in 2009, develops and advances sensible policy solutions that limit government and protect liberty.
