This is either lazy reporting or intentionally inaccurate. Tax refunds do not indicate if a person’s tax liability increased or decreased. Americans across the country are filing their federal income taxes and many are seeing lower than expected refunds or getting the shock of having to pay more taxes to the federal government. Many liberal politicians and media outlets […]
Iowa has many attractive qualities in making it a great place to live. If policymakers want to grow our population, the best way to encourage growth is by lowering tax rates so our state is more competitive. Population trends show that states with low tax rates are gaining new residents, while an exodus is underway in high tax states. […]
Would a four percent increase in income next year help your household budget? For most families it would. Four percent isn’t enough for the city of North Liberty according to their city administrator and they want to increase the property tax rate another 1.2 percent. In recent years the city’s taxable valuation growth has increased between seven and 14 percent […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 abuse. Iowa currently […]
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 […]