Tax break for the bamboozled? State eyes Ponzi loss carryback

An Idaho senator says people who have lost money in fraudulent investment schemes should be able to write off more of their state income taxes.

Rexburg Republican Senator Brent Hill told the House Revenue and Taxation Committee Monday that Idahoans who trusted dishonest financial managers deserve a tax break.

Ponzi scheme victims can now write off income taxes in the year losses are incurred.

But Hill wants people who lose more than they make in a certain year to be allowed to subtract losses from income earned in previous years. He says help like that would allow them to recoup income tax already paid.

Hill estimates a few dozen Idaho investors have been affected by Ponzi schemes since 2008. If approved, Hill says the state would lose between $500,000 and $1 million in annual tax revenue.

The committee unanimously voted to introduce the bill.