Ballot initiative proposed to eliminate Idaho's 6% sales tax on food

After years of failing to advance legislation to eliminate Idaho’s sales tax on groceries, an effort has launched to make the change via voter ballot initiative.

Howard Rynearson, Payette County GOP Central Committee chairman, is leading the charge to gather enough signatures to place the measure on the November 2026 ballot.

“People are very, very disgusted and tired of the fact that we’ve not been able to do this,” Rynearson told the Idaho Capital Sun in a phone interview.

If passed, the “Repeal Idaho’s Grocery Tax” initiative would in fiscal year 2028 eliminate Idaho’s 6% sales tax on food items, as defined by the federal Supplemental Nutrition and Assistant Program, or SNAP. The sales tax would remain for alcohol, tobacco, and restaurant sales of food or “hot food products ready for immediate consumption.”



https://idahocapitalsun.com/2025/08/11/ballot-initiative-proposed-to-eliminate-idahos-6-sales-tax-on-food/