One way to tell is to look here, and open up tax form ST_101, Sales Tax Exemption. The big winner is agribusiness. Farmers and ranchers (like Gov Risch) don't have to pay sales taxes on anything they buy that is used to produce their goods. They don't have to pay sales tax on irrigation and sprinkler equipment, but golf courses and homeowners do. Livestock sold at public market is exempt.
Most health care is exempt if it's not-for-profit, so the mega-hospitals in Boise apparently don't pay sales tax (or property tax). Canal companies and forest protective associations are also exempt. Some exemptions are benevolent, some required (federal government), but others just seem to be political favors. Why shouldn't a canal company pay sales tax? Because that might raise rates for farmers.
Idaho is no longer the rural state it once was; most of the population lives in urban areas. I'd like to see the legislature get rid of the non-benevolent exemptions and extend the sale tax to services (like legal fees, like our Gov lives on), lower the overall rate, and exempt groceries.
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