March 18, 2025
What’s in a Name?
A Tax by Any Other Name…
By: Idaho Dist. 25 Representative David Leavitt
Lawmakers love playing word games when it comes to raising taxes. Instead of calling them taxes, they use words like “fees” or “assessments” to make them seem more acceptable. But no matter what they call it, a tax is still a tax—and in the end, it’s the consumer who pays the price.
That’s why I voted against two bills—S1016 and S1054—on the House floor today.
S1016 raised fee caps for the Branding Board and gave them more control over setting fees.
S1054 increased the assessment on Idaho’s bean industry, citing rising costs and declining bean acreage. The Idaho Bean Commission claimed they needed the increase to stay afloat, as they hadn’t raised the assessment since 1992.
Both bills were framed as necessary adjustments, but in reality, they were tax increases disguised as fees—costs that will inevitably be passed down to consumers at the grocery store.
In a recent session of the House Agricultural Affairs Committee, I challenged these so-called “fee” increases. When I pointed out that they were, in reality, commodity taxes, I was met with mockery and resistance.
One of the bills explicitly stated:
TAX LEVY. (1) There is hereby levied and imposed a tax of no less than sixteen cents but no more than twenty-four cents per hundredweight on beans covered by this chapter…
Yet, when I directly asked the bill sponsor, “So you are saying this is not a tax?” I wasn’t given an honest answer. Instead, I was personally attacked—an outright violation of committee rules.
What’s the difference between a tax and a fee? Shakespeare once wrote, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” The same applies here. If a payment is government-mandated, collected, and enforced, it is a tax—no matter what label they slap on it.
Or, as the old military saying goes: “If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it’s a duck.” If the government imposes it and forcibly collects it, it’s a tax.
Beyond taxation, another alarming issue is the governor’s growing influence over these commissions. Nearly every bill of this nature includes language such as:
“The commission shall be appointed by the governor.”
Rather than allowing industries to operate freely, these commissions serve as an extension of the executive branch, consolidating power and reducing accountability to the people who actually work in these fields.
Instead of embracing a free-market approach, where industries regulate themselves through competition and voluntary cooperation, these commissions embed government control into private affairs. Why? Because it’s easier to use the government’s monopoly on force to mandate participation than to earn buy-in through a competitive market.
These commissions force individuals to pay into bureaucratic structures, limiting economic freedom and stifling innovation. Instead of allowing businesses and industries to thrive on their own merits, the government steps in with mandates and taxation, ensuring reliance on its authority rather than natural market forces.
And as always, it’s not the businesses that ultimately pay these costs—it’s the consumers. When the government raises fees on industries, those costs don’t just disappear; they get factored into the price of goods and services. Whether it’s branding fees on livestock or assessments on agricultural products, the result is the same: higher costs for everyday Idahoans.
Calling something a “fee” instead of a “tax” doesn’t change what it is. A tax is mandatory. A fee is voluntary and tied to a specific service. But when an industry is legally required to pay into a commission, that’s taxation, plain and simple.
Idahoans deserve an honest government that tells the truth about taxation. It’s time for lawmakers to stop playing word games and start respecting the people they serve. I will continue standing against these deceptive tax hikes, and I encourage you to hold your elected officials accountable as well.
