Idaho lawmakers want federal public land appraised for taxes

By KEITH RIDLER
Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho lawmakers are seeking technology companies to appraise federal land in real-time to find out how much money lawmakers say the federal government should be paying the state in property taxes if the land were privately owned. The Committee on Federalism last month put out what is called a request for information, asking companies to submit ideas by Nov. 8. Idaho is roughly 63% federal public land, but that land isn’t taxable by local governments. A federal program earlier this year sent states $530 million to make up for that lack of tax revenue. Idaho received $34.5 million, but some state lawmakers say Idaho should get more.