The game of chicken being played in Washington, D.C. over next year’s federal budget and the debt ceiling is the latest example of why we are glad to do our work in Iowa, not the nation’s capital. While President Joe Biden seemingly wants to be handed a blank check for federal spending, Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Republicans are demanding […]
This article was published in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. A spending limit applied to local governments requiring them to earn a vote of the people to raise spending forces governments to be more accountable and to justify new spending. Taxpayers across the state are upset after receiving their property assessment notices in the mail. Property assessments in Iowa have increased, […]
Local government officials should focus less on “keeping up with the Joneses” and more on the core services demanded by their constituents. Property taxes are arguably the most hated tax in Iowa, and rightfully so. The tax bill grows whether or not the homeowner has done anything to the property. Consequently, Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation’s latest poll found that […]
The recent ITR Foundation poll shows Iowans are concerned about their own financial stability and the role inflation and government tax-and-spend policies have on their budget. Iowans are increasingly concerned about the economy, with high inflation and national economic uncertainty contributing to their anxiety. A recent poll conducted by ITR Foundation found that 74.4 percent of Iowans...
This article was published in the Iowa Capital Dispatch. Truth-in-Taxation forces local governments to be more transparent, holds local governments accountable, and provides an opportunity for citizens to have an honest conversation with their elected officials about property taxes. Frustration with high property taxes is reaching a boiling point, especially after taxpayers across Iowa are receivi...
Click here to download your copy of Iowans Favor Income Tax Constitutional Protection one-pager. Iowa has made great progress in reducing income taxes over the past few years. One question that is now being asked is, what is the best way to protect taxpayers from dramatic and damaging increases in the future? The most recent ITR Foundation poll found that over 60% of Iowans [&hellip...
The system used to calculate property taxes in Iowa is too complicated. It’s easy to get lost in all of the calculations that go into determining your property tax bill, so we’ll try to simplify some of the items for you. The first thing to remember is property taxes in your community are determined by how much your local elected […]
With three-quarters of the fiscal year behind us, the state is continuing to outperform last year. Iowa’s revenue report for March has been released and the data revealed net General Fund revenue for the month was $39 million (7.3%) above the March 2022 net revenue level. When broken down by the three largest sources (personal income tax, sales/use tax, and corporate income […]
Property taxes are a heavy burden for Iowans and voters are demanding that the legislature step up to offer some relief. The most recent ITR Foundation poll found that a full two-thirds of Iowans support the general assembly setting limits on how much a local government can tax and spend in order to control the growth of property taxes.
The most recent Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation Poll, conducted by Cygnal, shows a majority of Iowans want to see restraints applied to government’s ability to grow. Two-thirds of those surveyed (66.6%) support the legislature setting limits on how much a local government can tax and spend, while nearly as many Iowans (61.3%) would support a constitutional amendment requiring a […]
When a state starts to move away from sound tax policy, even if it does so with the best of intentions, unintended consequences can abound. Exempting certain goods and services from taxation is a literal example of government “picking winners and losers.” A sales tax holiday is a limited time period during which a state frees purchases of specific items […]
West Virginia is only the latest state to take the step of eliminating restrictive barriers to health care, and Iowa should be the next. Policymakers in Iowa can increase access to health care and improve affordability by eliminating excessive restrictions on the expansion and introduction of facilities. Specifically, Iowa’s Certificate of Need (CON) laws limit patient access and provider competit...
Iowa taxpayers and small businesses would be better served if federal policymakers made the TCJA permanent, pushed back on proposed tax increases, and fought inflation by cutting government spending. This article was published in The Cedar Rapids Gazette. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) brought historic tax relief to taxpayers. Taxpayers and small business owners across Iowa benefited greatly [&h...
All bonded indebtedness, voted levies, and other revenue or spending questions that directly affect property taxes should be placed on November election ballots for the greatest possible participation of the electorate. On March 7, 2023, 22 taxing authorities spread across 35 Iowa counties held special elections that included bond questions totaling nearly $400 million in potential new spendi...