| Please visit the Iowa Fiscal Partnership website for more state tax and budget reports completed in cooperation with the Child and Family Policy Center. |
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| April 4, 2008 |
Iowa legislators are considering legislation that would switch the existing School Infrastructure Local Option (SILO) sales tax to a statewide penny sales tax. The proposal holds mixed implications for low-income Iowans and tax equity issues in the state. Read the report and the two-page backgrounder.
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| April 3, 2008 |
| A new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows how large Iowa manufacturers already deal with combined reporting legislation in other states, undermining many big-business claims that closing tax loopholes in Iowa would harm the state's economy. Read the nine-page report and two-page news release. Also see the two-page backgrounder from the Iowa Fiscal Partnership.
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| April 1, 2008 |
| As state legislators close out the 2008 legislative session and confront the tasks of maintaining commitments and investing in Iowa's future, they will have to finance their budget. Each financing decision has a different set of consequences for Iowans at different income levels. It is crucial to remember a basic principle of taxation: fairness. Read the three-page backgrounder.
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On issues of tax fairness, Iowa's personal income tax system falls most short in its tax treatment of families with children. In fact, Iowa's income tax system is the most skewed against families with children of any state income tax system in the country. Expanding Iowa's Earned Income Tax Credit can improve the lot of those families. Read the two-page backgrounder.
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| March 6, 2008 |
The research is in and the data are clear: Iowa’s outdated, and increasingly leaky, tax code needs reform. Over time, special provisions have been incorporated to give advantage to different special interests, while tax accountants and attorneys have found ways to manipulate the code to help their clients escape taxes. A prime example of how our tax code has been skewed to benefit the wealthy: Iowa's special treatment of capital gains. Read the two-page backgrounder.
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| Feb. 27, 2008 |
Rapid growth in the adoption and use of tax credits are contributing to an unsustainable, structurally imbalanced budget in Iowa, suggesting lawmakers should take a step back and immediately (1) provides for public disclosure of the beneficiaries of all business-directed tax credits; (2) revise and limit existing tax credits; and (3) establish a moratorium on the enactment of any additional tax credits. Read the two-page backgrounder.
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| Feb. 4, 2008 |
| A new report from the Iowa Department of Revenue provides important new information about the size and growth of the state's Research Activities Credit (RAC). Most of the $263 million since the credit was created in 1985 has gone to a small number of large multistate corporations. In fact, sometimes companies have received a check from the state instead of paying state income tax as a result of the credit. Read the backgrounder and the press release from the Iowa Fiscal Partnership.
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Iowa law allows multistate corporations to unilaterally cut their own taxes, putting their Main Street competitors in Iowa at a disadvantage. Read the backgrounder.
Also see a map of states that have cracked down on corporate tax loopholes with something called "combined reporting," and the press release.
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| Jan. 15, 2008 |
Long overdue reforms to make business taxes more fair to Iowa-based firms and to improve recycling efforts are part of Gov. Chet Culver's proposals in his "Condition of the State" message. Read the press release.
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| April 24, 2007 |
| A new two-page backgrounder from the Iowa Fiscal Partnership notes key questions that need to be examined about proposals for state assistance to Earthpark and a related tourism complex near Pella. Read the Backgrounder. |
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| April 11, 2007 |
| Closing corporate tax loopholes could save Iowa up to $100 million a year and even the playing field for Iowa businesses against multistate competitors such as Wal-Mart. Full report, news release. |
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| March 14, 2007 |
| Some 168,000 Iowa families receive an average benefit of $1,630 from the federal Earned Income Tax Credit. In this report, we show how many families benefit and by how much for each state House district. Backgrounder. |
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| March 13, 2007 |
| With the new minimum wage set to take effect, lawmakers are considering
the next piece of the puzzle in making work pay for low-income Iowans: an
expanded state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Backgrounder. |
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| February 22, 2007 |
| Iowans pay less than the national average for state services, according to new Census information that provides the latest evidence of Iowa’s competitive standing. News release, full report. |
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| November 28, 2006 |
| Iowa’s corporate income tax has been on the decline for at least two decades. This report explains why and what policy makers can do to fix the problem. Policy brief. |
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| November 27, 2006 |
| Comprehensive reform could lead to an expansion of health care in Iowa, benefiting workers, businesses and public health. Piecemeal reform virtually guarantees things will get worse. News release, executive summary, full report. |
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| April 11, 2006 |
| Legislators looking for answers to tight budget challenges could find a partial answer right in front of them: Reviving the corporate income tax. By closing tax loopholes that benefit the largest corporations, legislators could also put Iowa businesses on equal footing with their out-of-state competition. News release, executive summary, full report. |
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| February 22, 2006 |
New research affirms that proposed income-tax breaks for seniors offer to solve a problem that doesn't exist. So few seniors leave Iowa for tax reasons that proposed changes will cost about $450,000 a year per senior. Read the Full Report, Press Release, February 2006 Backgrounder, and May 2006 Backgrounder.
**UPDATE** Recently enacted tax legislation means more complexities when seniors pay state income taxes. Peter Fisher explains how Iowa's seniors will be taxed beginning in 2007 in this June 2006 Backgrounder. |
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| January 9, 2006 |
| Under current Iowa law, retired Iowans already receive preferential treatment for both Social Security income and pension benefits. This backgrounder cautions about the potential impact on services for seniors if these tax preferences are further expanded. Read the Handout from Peter Fisher's January 16 presentation to state legislators. |
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| April 19, 2005 |
| Iowa’s personal income tax system already treats retirees generously. Read the news release and report. |
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| January 13, 2005 |
| Budget deficits will hobble Iowa as long as legislators avoid a long-term solution. News release, executive summary, full report. |
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| December 15, 2004 |
| City and county governments have made tough choices as they struggled to deal with cuts in state support, a stagnant property tax base and rising health insurance costs. News release, executive summary, full report. |
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| December 10, 2004 |
| While the demand for human services increased during the recession, the state reduced its overall investments, particularly in child welfare and mental health. News release, executive summary, full report. |
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| November 22, 2004 |
| Education at all levels has suffered from recent budget cutbacks. News release, executive summary, full report. |
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| September 29, 2004 |
| Iowa's handling of the recent fiscal crunch differed markedly from other states as Iowa opted to cut revenues at a time services already were being threatened. News release, full report. |
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| September 27, 2004 |
| No matter how you cut it, Iowa's taxes are about average. Full report. |
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| September 1, 2004 |
| Iowa legislators need to keep job quality and fiscal responsibility in mind next week when they return for a special session to restore the Grow Iowa Values Fund. News release. |
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| July 26, 2004 |
| A new tax break for corporations being negotiated in a possible special session of the Iowa Legislature may offer false promise to help the state economy. News release, full report. |
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| July 9, 2004 |
| Key facts to keep in mind as Iowa legislators are talking about reviving a proposal to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits for high-income taxpayers. Fact sheet. |
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| June 18, 2004 |
| Iowa income taxes could be made more fair and more simple if legislators are inclined to seriously address tax policy. Full report, news release. |
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| March 8, 2004 |
| Across party lines and income groups, Iowa voters overwhelmingly view the state's tax system as unfair and inadequate to fund priorities. Full report, news release. |
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| February 4, 2004 |
| But Were Afraid to Ask. One option to address Iowa's recent budget challenges is to examine tax loopholes that do not serve a public purpose. Full report. |
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| October 21, 2003 |
| Real tax reform is examined in the context of seven tax principles. Full report. |
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| June 13, 2003 |
| Sixty cents of every dollar would go to the wealthiest 20 percent of Iowa taxpayers with income-tax cuts passed by the Iowa Legislature. News release. View Tax Chart 1 and Tax Chart 2. |
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| May 15, 2003 |
| Policy makers who are serious about improving the state's economy will turn away from tax and budget cuts and toward investments in public services. News release, full report. |
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| April 29, 2003 |
| Reducing taxes on retirement income to compensate for a cigarette tax increase would create new equity problems, but policy makers could ease those problems with other alternatives. News release, full report. |
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| April 14, 2003 |
| More discretion on sentencing and greater use of community-based corrections in Iowa would be sensible responses to the challenges caused by greater prison populations and tight budgets. News release, executive summary, full report. View Chart 1 and Chart 2. |
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| April 9, 2003 |
| A moratorium on tax-increment financing in Iowa would set the stage for TIF reforms to assure accountability and benefits to residents and taxpayers. Press Release, Executive Summary and Full Report. |
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| March 14, 2003 |
| Moves to simplify Iowa taxes may not only fail to make filing simple, but also may raise new fairness and revenue issues. Press Release and Full Report (by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy). |
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| February 10, 2003 |
| Iowans pay less in state and local taxes than the national average. "Iowa is not a high-tax state," says Peter Fisher. News release, full report. |
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| January 7, 2003 |
| A new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy examines the burden of state taxes for families in all 50 states. News release, chart, table. |
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| January 22, 2002 |
| Wealthy Iowans made the biggest income gains while capturing the net benefits of changes in tax policy in the 1990s. News release, full report. |
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| January 16, 2001 |
| This report provides an analysis of the legislative proposal to exempt upper income retirees from paying Iowa income taxes on their Social Security benefits. Full report. |
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