ITR’s Chris Hagenow, and Ernie Adkison along with ITR Foundation’s Chris Ingstad get together to discuss chickens, bounce houses and pressure washers along with a few other random topics. The results of Iowa’s primary elections. Big wins for Republican United States Senator Chuck Grassley and his opponent Micheal Franken. State Senator Zach Nunn wins big and will now be […]
Iowa and ITR Foundation In National Spotlight Another national media outlet has taken note of the work Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Legislature are doing. Real Clear Policy published The State Built on Fiscal Conservatism – Not Federal Handouts by ITR Foundation Policy Director John Hendrickson. John explains how prudent, conservative spending made this year’s tax reform possible. The Washington Times recently sought […]
Host Chris Hagenow was recently named President of Iowans for Tax Relief and is joined by new ITR Foundation President Chris Ingstad to discuss their new roles within the ITR family of organizations. The Chris’s talk about why the future is bright not only for their organizations but, more importantly, for the future of the state of Iowa. After explaining […]
ITR Foundation Policy Director John Hendrickson joined the ITR Live podcast to talk about why it is important that the Iowa Caucuses remain first in the nation and the importance of the Electoral College.
Rural citizens and legislators are concerned that school choice would take critical funding away from their local schools. ITR Foundation Deputy Director Walt Rogers sat down with Need to Know host Jeff Angelo to debunk this myth and explain how school choice would improve education quality through the competition. The discussion starts at the 9:25 minute mark.
The School Choice Questions We Should Be Asking The education establishment has done an amazing job of creating the perfect “Emperor’s New Clothes” scenario when arguing against school choice. In the story, the emperor is fond of clothes and two “weavers” enter his capital, telling him they will create a magnificent suit for him that would be invisible to all […]
How’s your property tax bill? If you tell us it’s too high, we won’t argue with you. In fact, we keep proposing solutions to deliver stronger taxpayer protections. But property taxes exist to fund our K-12 education system and city and county governments, as well as other services we all have access to; they are never going away. So maybe […]
Intentions Don’t Always Equal Results In an effort to compete in our global economy, each state in the U.S. relies on economic incentives to attract corporations. Depending on one’s view of incentives, this can be thought of as economic development, or corporate welfare, or even crony capitalism. According to one 50-state evaluation, Iowa has 60 programs, the most among its neighbors. Unfortunately, […]
Truth-in-Taxation: A Rock Chalk Taxpayer Protection March Madness wrapped up this month with the Kansas Jayhawks being crowned National Champions. While there may not be many Iowans who joined Jayhawk fans in celebrating that victory, there was another win in Kansas that we can all be happy about: property taxes. The map below identifies 21 Kansas counties that actually experienced a decline in […]
Did Iowa Spark A Tax Reform Movement? This year may be one of the most historic for states lowering income tax rates across the nation. So far, at least six other states have joined Iowa in passing tax cuts, while many more have tax reform legislation under consideration. The graph above illustrates the new rates that will be delivered to individual taxpayers in their […]
This year may be one of the most historic for states lowering income tax rates across the nation. So far, at least six other states have joined Iowa in passing tax cuts, while many more have tax reform legislation under consideration. The graph above illustrates the new rates that will be delivered to individual taxpayers in their respective states. The […]
School choice, specifically in the form of Educational Savings Accounts, is taking center stage inside the Iowa Capitol as negotiations on key policy items continue with the end of this year’s legislative session in sight. ITR Foundation has detailed the need for school choice in our state from various perspectives.
Do the media and the left not understand how tax cuts work? Did they collude to protect Hunter Biden? Would you like to see just how much Iowa is improving its tax climate? Who is really to blame for the soaring prices we’re all paying these days? ITR Foundation sets the record straight below. Budget Growth & Tax Cuts: A […]
Somehow Hunter Biden has managed to make himself the common thread that ties together a war in Eastern Europe with everything people dislike about politics in America, while pointing to this country’s collective and completely justified distrust of the media. We are not suggesting that Hunter’s activities in Ukraine have anything to do with Russia’s invasion. But if American citizens […]
Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation has been a consistent voice against the unnecessary and often harmful stimulus money that has flowed to state and local governments across the country and certainly here in Iowa. This isn’t a new topic (check out our related articles below); even prior to the pandemic we warned against the dangers of a growing federal deficit and […]
Iowans recently scored a huge income tax reform victory but are still frustrated with out-of-control property taxes. Additionally, how should cities, counties, and school districts use the nearly $1.2 billion in federal funds they received from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)? ITR Foundation has solutions to those issues as well as some school choice stories for you to check […]
Opponents of school choice want you to believe that school choice will hurt our public schools and that public money should not be used for private institutions. ITR Foundation Deputy Director Walt Rogers sat down with Need to Know host Jeff Angelo to discuss these myths surrounding school choice and why those objections do not hold water. The discussion starts […]
Nothing says “overreach” like one government forcing another to spend $1 billion, but of course that’s the situation Iowa’s local governments find themselves in. As we’ve written about, cities, counties, and school districts in Iowa have collectively received nearly $1.2 billion dollars from Uncle Sam through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and there are lots of ways to utilize […]
Last week the taxpayers of Iowa scored a monumental win thanks to the effort of Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Legislature. The passage and signing of this historic tax relief bill will reduce the individual income tax to a flat rate of 3.9% by 2026, begin ratcheting down the corporate income tax to an eventual flat rate of 5.5%, and […]
You are important to us! We want to keep you up to date on the impact good and bad policy has on the state’s future. So, for the last couple our weeks, our pens have been working feverishly on articles from tax policy, healthcare, education, among others. Here is a list of our most recent articles. Strong Fiscal Rules Lead to […]
From a taxpayer perspective, the 2022 legislative session is off to a good start. Governor Kim Reynolds and both the House and Senate Republicans have proposed pro-growth tax reform plans that would lower Iowa’s income tax rates. Proposed Individual Income Tax Reform Plans Governor Kim Reynolds 4.0% flat rate by 2026House Republicans 4.0% flat rate by 2026Senate Republicans […]
From a taxpayer perspective, the 2022 legislative session is off to a good start. Governor Kim Reynolds, in her Condition of the State address, outlined a pro-growth tax reform plan that calls for a flat 4 percent income tax by 2026. House Republicans have also introduced a tax reform plan that calls for a flat 4 percent tax rate by […]
A state’s tax code is a tricky thing. No two states have identical laws governing their tax systems, so a direct, apples-to-apples comparison between states is impossible. There are lots of details and the details really matter. For instance, what is the standard deduction allowed by a state? This varies across the country, and becomes a key aspect of the tax plan released by Governor Kim Reynolds last week. But a good starting point for a review of all 50 state tax codes is the top marginal tax rate. Stated simply, the top marginal tax rate is the highest rate any given state levies on the income of its citizens and businesses.
In Iowa, we expect to receive quality public services at a reasonable cost.
However, in too many school districts, cities, and counties there is a gap between the amount of property taxes extracted from citizens and the growth of the community. For example, one Iowa school district is collecting 90 percent more in property taxes than it did 10 years ago while the number of students has remained the same.
What is going on? Why is this happening? It happens for different reasons in each locality across the state, but the heart of the problem is a failure to talk with local elected officials.
So, if you are upset about your property taxes, select your community below to take a look at the growth gap between property taxes and enrollment/population. Use our built-in email form to easily start a conversation with the people who determine your property tax bill.