By Christina Lords | Editor-in-Chief
“When tax cuts significantly reduce the resources available for public services, the costs do not disappear — they are shifted onto families and local communities through higher property taxes, rising tuition and fees, reduced services and growing barriers to accessing healthcare and food assistance.” - Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy analyst May Roberts
A graphic from the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy outlines how state and federal tax cuts since 2018 have largely benefited wealthy Idahoans. (Graph courtesy of the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy)
GOVERNMENT + POLITICS
New report finds tax cuts benefit highest-income Idaho households most
By Clark Corbin
The report found that 73% of the benefits of the cuts went to the top 20% of households, those that earn $143,000 or more each year.
The report also found that Idahoans with the lowest incomes – those earning less than $29,200 annually – saw their taxes increase by an average of $96 per year.
The Philip E. Batt building is located in Boise and home to the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights. (Photo by Mia Maldonado/Idaho Capital Sun)
CIVIL RIGHTS
Believing in the goodness of people: Idaho human rights center celebrates 30-year anniversary
By Valentine Termite
The event, held at the Wassmuth educational center in downtown Boise, will feature choral performances by the Common Ground Chorus, speeches, art projects and an outdoor museum exhibit teaching visitors about human rights.
The Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain outside of Union Station in Washington, D.C., on June 16, 2026. The Columbus Circle fountain is one of nine ornamental fountains in Washington, D.C., that have recently undergone improvements reportedly funded in part by National Park Service fees. (Photo by Amelia Twyman/States Newsroom)
ENVIRONMENT
Lawmakers demand info on Trump use of national park fees to pay for D.C. repairs
By Amelia Twyman
U.S. House and Senate Democrats, mostly from Western states, are demanding transparency from the Interior Department after media reports revealed the Trump administration redirected roughly $90 million in national parks fees to help fund renovations and upcoming celebratory displays in Washington, D.C.
MORE REGIONAL AND NATIONAL NEWS FROM US
ICYMI
Shining a light on other Idaho politics reporting
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