Tax reform bills are getting a lot of attention at the Iowa Statehouse.
Johnathan Hladik, policy director for the Center for Rural Affairs, says the Iowa House last week passed a tax reform bill that would adjust the state?s income tax to a 4 percent flat rate by 2026. It?s now been sent on to the State Senate.
?We?re particularly interested in the Senate bill. It?s unique in that it?s the one that would fund Iowa?s Natural Resource and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund by a sales tax increase included in that legislation. The fund was created way back in 2010 with the support of 63 percent of Iowans, but it has remained unfunded ever since. Taking that step here in the Senate proposal we think is a good sign.?
Hladik says the tax reform bill is a very large bill with many moving pieces.
?In particular, there are some questions about how repurposing the local options sales tax is going to end up affecting some of our rural communities. That?s something we?re following and that legislators are going to need to come to a resolution on. Section 206 of the bill would increase funding for the local conservation partnership program. The reason we think that?s important for rural Iowa is because this provides needed support for watershed management authorities.?
Hladik adds the Center for Rural Affairs is also monitoring efforts to support local water quality initiatives, updates surrounding the state?s meat processing task force, and a bill that would seek to prohibit solar development on Ag land in Iowa. We?ll have more on those topics in a future news story.
