There are renewed calls for a cigarette tax increase, despite evidence that sin taxes fall short in revenue generation and in their attempt at social engineering. Once again anti-smoking advocates are calling for a tax increase in Iowa, this time to the tune of $1.50 more on each pack of cigarettes. A cigarette tax is a sin tax; sin taxes are […]
How do your taxes compare with other areas? Across Iowa, property taxes represent one of the most substantial tax burdens most individuals and businesses pay. Over half of the property taxes paid statewide in Iowa will be for cities (29.06 percent) and counties (21.95 percent). Using information from the Iowa Department of Management and the U.S. Census Bureau, TEF created scorecards by looking [&...
How much money does the government take from you each year? Keeping track of what you pay in income, property, sales, and excise taxes is nearly impossible. We make it easy! TEF is building a What’s My Tax Calculator. When completed, you will quickly be able to you’ll see exactly how much Iowa costs you.
Statewide, almost 22 percent of all property taxes paid are for Iowa counties. How do your taxes compare with other counties? Using information from the Iowa Department of Management and the U.S. Census Bureau, TEF created scorecards by looking at the change in three measurements from Fiscal Year 2016 to Fiscal Year 2017. Change in property tax rates (both rural […]
Cities collect over 29 percent of all property taxes statewide. How do your taxes compare with other cities? Using information from the Iowa Department of Management and the U.S. Census Bureau, TEF created scorecards by looking at the change in three measurements from Fiscal Year 2016 to Fiscal Year 2017. Change in property tax rates Change in property tax revenue […]
How does Iowa compare with the other 49 states and Washington, D.C.? The individual income tax rate, corporate income tax rate, sales tax rate all as of January 1, 2019, and property taxes paid as a percentage of owner-occupied housing value for CY 2016 are ranked from 1 to 51 with 1 being the lowest and 51 the highest. Individual […]
States that have lower tax rates and keep lower spending levels often see greater economic growth and more stable revenues. Government spending is a concern to many Iowans. Individuals, families, and businesses across Iowa all follow a budget that is not guaranteed to increase every year, yet Iowa’s budget continues to grow. Iowa’s state budget is $7.3 billion and even […]
How can Iowa make sure its recent tax reform is fully implemented, including the adoption of fewer and lower tax rates in 2023? The only proven way to lower tax rates is with spending restraint. Some of us in our personal lives have learned Dave Ramsey’s lesson that you cannot out-earn your own stupidity. No state can out-tax bad budgets. […]
The Iowa legislature is already making progress in creating a more friendly economic environment for job creators by passing needed tax reform legislation. The tax reform bill signed into law by Governor Kim Reynolds begins the process of reducing Iowa’s high individual and corporate tax rates. In addition, this legislation also calls for a strenuous review of Iowa’s many business […]
Gov. Kim Reynolds and Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate identified tax reform as a priority before the start of the 2018 session. With expectations high for the first significant income tax reform in 20 years, the discussion on tax policy dominated the session. The Governor and lawmakers agreed to a bill on the session's final day and the […]
The passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which is the most significant tax reform to occur in decades, is creating economic growth and opportunities for Americans. The tax cuts, along with President Donald Trump’s unshackling the economy from excessive regulations, is the cause of this economic renewal. The “new normal” economy of slow economic growth and high unemployment […]
Opponents of tax reduction balk at North Carolina’s historic tax reform as an example that pro-growth tax policies only lead to the bleeding of essential state services. They are wrong. Since 2013, an economic policy agenda reducing tax rates, regulations, and controlling the growth of spending has been advanced in North Carolina. In the process, North Carolina “began changing the […]
“Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt,” stated President Herbert Hoover. Once again, the nation hit a record as our national debt has risen to $21 trillion. This does not include the trillions in unfunded liabilities from entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. This month also marked another unfortunate event when the federal […]
U.S. News & World Report recently ranked Iowa “best state in the nation when it comes to infrastructure, healthcare, opportunity, and education.” Although this ranking is something Iowa can be proud of it does not mean that improvements cannot be made, especially regarding our state’s high and complex tax code. Iowa has some of the highest individual and corporate income […]
As Iowa’s tight budget situation lingers, the call for additional revenue sources continues to grow. The Des Moines Register recently published an editorial advocating a tax increase on beer to fund various programs and law enforcement efforts to deal with alcohol-related issues. The editorial board argued that a higher beer tax would discourage drinking and reduce the harmful effects of alcohol a...
The state of Iowa is facing a tight budget. Although revenues at this time are not declining, Iowa’s revenues continue to be lower than projected. Some of the factors contributing to this include a decline in Iowa’s agricultural economy and the increasing consumer behavior of online purchases where sales taxes are not paid. Iowa is also in need of serious […]
Several states are moving in the direction of lowering their tax rates to create economic growth. The trend among many states has been to lower both individual and corporate income taxes as well as business and property taxes. In 2016 several states cut taxes and many of those states were building on previous tax cuts. Jared Walczak, a senior policy […]
The Des Moines Register recently suggested that Iowa should consider imposing a new tax on soda and other sugary drinks. It is assumed that this tax may be able to help solve two problems. The first is to generate more revenue for state government, and the second is to fight obesity. Any potential debate over a soda tax should serve […]