Bill Description: Senate Bill 1074 would provide an exemption from education-related property tax levies for the primary residence of families with kids who don't receive education funding from the state. 

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Does it directly or indirectly create or increase any taxes, fees, or other assessments? Conversely, does it eliminate or reduce any taxes, fees, or other assessments?

Senate Bill 1074 would amend Section 63-602G, Idaho Code, to create an additional property tax exemption from all property tax levies authorized in title 33, Idaho Code. It would apply to homesteads occupied by at least one child age 5-18 "who is not enrolled in a taxpayer-funded public school district or public charter school, is not the beneficiary of any education-related public assistance from the state of Idaho, and is either enrolled in a private school or privately instructed by, or at the direction of, such child's parent or guardian."

This exemption would apply only if all children in the household met this qualification. 

The bill would reduce the property tax burden for families who choose not to use government schools or other education funding from the state.

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Unlike reductions in income or sales tax rates, property tax exemptions do not reduce total government revenue. Instead, they shift the tax burden to other taxpayers in the taxing district. As a result, this bill, though helpful to some families, increases the tax burden imposed on others. (This effect could be avoided by requiring the taxing district to reduce spending by the total amount of all claimed exemptions.) 

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Does it promote the breakdown of the traditional family or the deconstruction of societal norms? Examples include promoting or incentivizing degeneracy, violating parental rights, and compromising the innocence of children. Conversely, does it protect or uphold the structure, tenets, and traditional values of Western society?

Senate Bill 1074 would provide a degree of property tax relief for families who opt out of government schools, allowing them to retain some of the money they would otherwise be compelled to pay in support of a government education system they have made a conscientious choice to avoid.

While this tax relief falls far short of fully rebating the taxes the average family pays to fund government schools, it does provide some support for families who choose to prioritize educating their children in a manner consistent with their values. 

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Does it expand the government's bureaucratic monopoly on education, reduce family and student choice, or finance education based on an institution or system? Conversely, does it reduce government coercion in education, expand education choice, or finance education based on the student rather than the institution?

One of the ways government maintains its monopoly on education is by imposing a massive tax burden to fund its failing system. 

The combination of property taxes, income taxes, and sale taxes imposes a huge burden on families and a significant (and growing) portion of these taxes is used to subsidize the government education system. Families who make a conscientious choice to educate their children elsewhere are essentially doubly taxed. They are forced to continue funding a system they don't use while also needing to privately fund their children's education from what is left after paying taxes. 

This bill deals only with property tax levies authorized in title 33, Idaho Code; it does not account for the other taxes families are forced to pay to subsidize government schools.

Nevertheless, this bill still takes steps to weaken the government monopoly on education and give families back a little bit of their money. It's a start. 

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