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Some lawmakers and advocates in Idaho have been pushing a tax swap under which Idaho’s $100 per person Grocery Credit Refund would be eliminated in favor of exempting all grocery purchases from the sales tax. But a new ITEP report shows that the biggest winners under such a plan would be high-income households.
Members of Idaho’s top 1 percent would receive an average tax cut of $234 per year under such a swap. Low-income families, by contrast, would typically see a cut of $15 or less, and some would actually see their taxes increase.
The impact of this change is so lopsided in part because the state’s existing Grocery Credit Refund can cover most, or sometimes all, of the grocery taxes paid by a low- or moderate-income household. For a high-income household purchasing premium brands and other high-end foods, however, a blanket exemption for all grocery purchases can be much more lucrative than the current flat credit of $100 per person.
If cutting grocery taxes is on lawmakers’ minds, ITEP’s report suggests expanding the existing Grocery Credit Refund—a move that could provide larger benefits to most households than the alternative plan to create a grocery tax exemption.
For more on sales tax exemptions and credits, check out ITEP’s policy brief on the subject.
