Idaho tax incentive impact exceeds expectations
One year after Idaho began offering a tax incentive program to expanding and relocating businesses, the bells of success pealed proudly at the state capital.
The Tax Reimbursement Incentive was approved for 16 business expansion projects statewide, with three of them in Kootenai County. What that means, according to the Idaho Commerce Department, is this: Approval for incentives on 3,177 new jobs generating $1.27 billion in new payroll dollars.
“The Tax Reimbursement Incentive has truly been a game changer for the state to attract new businesses and grow existing Idaho businesses,” said Butch Otter, Idaho’s governor. “The first year of TRI has surpassed our expectations, and I look forward to seeing how this tool continues to help accelerate Idaho’s economy.”
Before all those $1.27 billion new dollars are pressed into wallets and bank accounts, however, sources acknowledged that the largesse represents projects that have been approved – not necessarily that all those 3,177 have actually been filled. And in Kootenai County’s case, the TRI factor is significant even if many of the new approved jobs don’t actually exist yet.