Elected officials talk taxes

MT. PLEASANT — As Iowa Legislators returned to legislative session this month, representatives for Henry County used a recent elected officials’ reception to comment on one of their biggest focuses for this session.

As District 95 Rep. Taylor Collins met with Mt. Pleasant Area elected officials and chamber members at The Grange in downtown Mt. Pleasant, he spoke about his priorities for the upcoming legislative session.

Collins commented that one of his hopes is that legislators will be able to expedite the tax cut process begun in 2022’s legislative session during the current session, which began Jan. 8 and will run until approximately April 16.

“Our revenues continue to come in very strong,” Collins said. “Our budget is just over $8 billion. Now yet our revenues are coming in at over $10 billion. You remember back in 2018 and the Democrats and everybody told us that we were going to bankrupt the state, and run it into insolvency, and yet we have the largest revenues we've ever had. And this really gives us an opportunity to return that money to Iowans and make sure that they have some extra money.”

“We were one of the highest income tax states before the film started and will be one of the lowest by the time we fully phase them in,” he said.

According to the Tax Foundation, Iowa currently uses a graduated individual income tax with rates ranging from 4.40-6.00%. Prior to the 2022 cuts, though, that top rate sat at 8.53%.

“We’re still going to work out the marginal tax rates because we passed the 3.9% flat rate to phase in by 2026, but there is a conversation about maybe pushing that sooner and having that go into effect,” District 45 Sen. Mark Lofgren commented.

In agreement with Lofgren, Collins stated, “As long as the revenue is coming in strong, I think we’re in a good position to speed up the current tax cut plan that we have going into play.”

“I think what the revenues we have coming in it puts us in a position to make those cuts immediate or even looking at further reductions that'll provide Iowans immediate relief when they can feel that in their pocketbook,” Collins said.

According to Collins, only the second night into session Gov. Kim Reynolds proposed not only accelerating the current tax cut to take effect Jan. 1, 2024 but also reducing the cut to a flat rate of 3.65%, then reducing it further to 3.5% by Jan. 1, 2025.

“She also has a plan to simplify and lower the unemployment tax employers pay. The Unemployment Trust Fund is at an all-time high of $1.8 billion,” Collins wrote in an update for his constituents in District 95. “That amount is more than enough to meet short-term needs of Iowans out of work. As a result, the Governor's plan would reduce the unemployment tax by about 40% allowing businesses to keep and invest more money.”

“Finally, the Governor has a plan to reduce property taxes for Child Care provider,” he said. “She creates a subcategory of commercial property for child care centers allowing them to be taxed at lower rates. The plan will be a major area of discussion in the Ways & Means Committee in 2024.”

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com