BOISE, Idaho — In a time when grocery bills keep climbing, the Republican Party of Idaho is backing a process it has typically opposed to try to repeal the state’s grocery tax.
Idahoans currently pay a 6% sales tax at the grocery store. Residents receive a $155 grocery tax credit — more if they are 65 or older — but some say it’s not enough.
“I think it’s great that the citizens are taking action to lower their taxes because they’ve grown frustrated with legislative leadership,” said Ron Nate, president of the Idaho Freedom Foundation. “It’s kind of exciting to see the citizens do this.”
WATCH: The push to end Idaho’s grocery tax has gained some surprising supporters —
That stance is unusual for the Freedom Foundation, which has often opposed citizen-led initiatives.
“Oh yeah, I don’t like the initiative process at all,” Nate said.
The push to repeal the grocery tax began not with an average voter but with Howard Rynearson, chairman of the Payette County GOP central committee.
Former Idaho Supreme Court Justice Jim Jones, a Republican who supports the initiative, called the move hypocritical.
“I would think so. They tried so hard to get rid of the initiative or make it impossible to use it. And now that it’s convenient for them, it’s, ‘Oh, maybe we were wrong,’” Jones said.
Idaho GOP chair Dorothy Moon has voiced support for the grocery tax initiative but opposed past efforts such as Medicaid expansion. In a rare moment of political agreement, the Idaho Democratic Party also supports repealing the tax.
“Quite frankly, I think it might be a good idea. The sales tax is a regressive tax that hits the small people a lot harder than the big people,” Jones said.
Idaho is one of only 10 states that still taxes groceries.
The initiative process is underway with backing from the Freedom Foundation.
“If it can be used for bad things, it ought to be able to be used for good things,” Nate said.
Jones added that initiatives have delivered positive results in the past. “Medicaid expansion, mining control, the Sunshine Act. A lot of good things were done by the initiatives.”
For the grocery tax repeal to reach the ballot, supporters must gather signatures from 6% of registered voters statewide and from 6% of voters in at least 18 legislative districts.
