Divorced Idaho Couples Could Get Tax Break, Sort Of
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Unsuspecting spouses saddled with tax liabilities from their former significant others are about to get a break. The House Revenue and Taxation Committee agreed unanimously Thursday it's unfair to require people who signed a joint tax return but didn't get any benefit from income to have to pay the Idaho State Tax Commission. The Senate has already supported the so-called "Innocent Spouse" measure, 35-0. Now, the House is up. Sen. Les Bock, a Boise tax attorney and Democrat, is pushing the measure after a pair of instances he encountered where this situation arose. One involved a woman, the other a man going through divorces. They were each, at least initially, held liable for taxes on income they never benefited from. Turning the tables, Bock said, is "a matter of fairness.