Iowa
Gov. Kim Reynolds signs a new Iowa income tax cut into law. What that means for you:
Iowans will pay a 3.8% flat income tax rate starting next year after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a law Wednesday lowering the state’s rate and speeding up a series of cuts.
The law builds on a 2022 tax cut that was already set to take Iowa to a 3.9% flat income tax rate in 2026.
Iowa’s top income tax rate this year is 5.7%. Under the new law, all Iowans will pay a 3.8% income tax rate next year.
Reynolds, a Republican, signed Senate File 2442 Wednesday afternoon in the governor’s formal office in the Iowa State Capitol.
It’s the latest in a series of tax cuts Reynolds and Republican majorities in the Iowa Legislature have passed since 2018. Those cuts have brought Iowa from a top individual income tax rate of 8.98% to next year’s 3.8% flat rate, which will apply to Iowans across the board.
“Simply put, we’ve comprehensively transformed our tax code and dramatically increased our competitiveness within a few short years,” Reynolds said. “At the same time, conservative budgeting practices have kept us living within our means and allowed us to continue making historic investments in key priorities of Iowans.”
The latest changes to Iowa’s tax code are expected to reduce state revenues by more than $1 billion over the first three years, and more than $1.3 billion through fiscal year 2030.
Reynolds said when added together all the tax cuts she has signed into law as governor will save Iowa taxpayers $24 billion over a decade.
More: Iowa’s income tax rate is dropping to 3.8%. See how that stacks up against other states
Individual income taxes made up 46.8% of Iowa’s revenues in fiscal year 2023, the most recent year for which complete data is available.
The new law will give Iowa the sixth-lowest income tax rate in the country among states that impose an income tax. Nine states have no income tax for individuals.
Democrats have criticized the flat tax, saying most of the benefits go to the wealthiest Iowans.
There are also around half a million Iowans who do not receive any benefit because their income is low enough that they do not pay income taxes.
Instead, House Democrats this year proposed cutting the state’s sales tax by 1 cent, which they say would disproportionately benefit lower-income Iowans.
“As opposed to the legislation we’re considering, which will be a tax cut for about two-thirds of Iowans, this will be a tax cut for 100% of Iowans,” Rep. Sami Scheetz, D-Cedar Rapids, said April 19 during debate in the Iowa House. “And as so many people in this state know, the sales tax is the most regressive form of taxation. It hits the people in the state who need help the most, the hardest.”
More: What’s in Iowa’s $8.9 billion state budget for the coming year? We break it down:
Law taps Taxpayer Relief Fund to make up shortfall if state revenues fall below spending
If state revenues drop below state spending during a fiscal year, the law says 50% of the costs will be covered using the Taxpayer Relief Fund. The other half would come from the state’s ending balance.
That part of the law will be repealed on July 1, 2029.
The LSA analysis of the legislation says state revenues are not estimated to fall below the state’s spending levels through fiscal year 2029, meaning the relief fund would not need to be tapped.
The state ended the previous fiscal year with $2.74 billion in the Taxpayer Relief Fund. The amount is expected to rise to about $3.6 billion in July, when the fiscal year ends.
More: All-night marathon caps Iowa Legislature’s 2024 session. What’s changing: AEAs, your taxes
What else does the tax law do?
The law also allows county boards of supervisors to eliminate their county compensation boards, which review salaries for elected officials and recommend increases.
And it makes changes to a property tax law last year that limits how much city and property tax revenue can grow. The new law tweaks how much a community’s assessed property value can grow before the government must use a portion of its excess revenue to lower property taxes.
The legislation also repeals an 1848 law requiring Lee County, the only county in Iowa with two courthouses, to maintain courthouses in both Fort Madison and Keokuk.
Reynolds signs law authorizing tax credits for large projects
Reynolds on Wednesday also signed Senate File 574, which creates a new tax credit program for large manufacturing and research projects that cost at least $1 billion.
The new program, called the Major Economic Growth Attraction Program, applies to businesses “primarily engaged in advanced manufacturing, biosciences or research and development.” Data centers and retail businesses are not eligible for the tax credit.
Companies seeking the tax credit must demonstrate that their project will create jobs that pay benefits and meet a certain wage threshold.
The program allows the Iowa Economic Development Authority to authorize a tax credit for up to 5% of the cost of the businesses’ investment in the project. Companies cannot claim the credit until the project is in service and at least half of the jobs specified in the company’s contract have been created.
The tax credit can offset taxes paid by the company, and will be spread out over five years.
More: Kim Reynolds signs Iowa farmland law regulating foreign ownership. Here’s what it does:
The law also authorizes businesses to claim a withholding tax credit of up to 3% of gross wages paid to employees on the qualifying project.
And businesses can qualify for a sales tax refund on taxes paid on electricity, water, gas and sewer utilities, property or services performed by subcontractors. The Department of Revenue will pay the refund to the business over five years.
Reynolds signed a law in April strengthening disclosure requirements for foreign ownerships of Iowa farmland and stepping up penalties for owners that fail to comply.
Senate File 574 allows the tax credits to go to a foreign business as long as the business qualifies for the program and can establish that it is not associated with a foreign adversary and is not actively engaged in farming.
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.
Biden and Trump clash in historic presidential debate
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump clashed in a historic presidential debate. Here are five takeaways.
Iowa Republicans took advantage of President Joe Biden’s stage presence during Thursday’s debate to repeat their argument that he is not mentally fit to hold office.
Leading up to the debate Republicans, including U.S. Rep Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa’s 1st District, were claiming that Biden would be on “drugs” to compensate for his “cognitive decline.”
However, Biden had moments where he was hard to hear and difficult to follow, allowing Republicans to return to a common allegation heard throughout both elections: Biden isn’t fit to lead the country.
More: Biden struggles in first joust with Trump: 5 takeaways from the presidential debate
Here are the responses from Iowa public officials following the first presidential debate.
Sen. Joni Ernst says President Joe Biden is ‘feeble-minded’
Joni Ernst, Iowa’s junior U.S. senator, double-downed on former President Donald Trump’s accusations that the country is in shambles under the current administration, and Trump is the only one who can turn things around.
“Americans saw the contrast on stage plain as day: a feeble-minded and weak-kneed man who let our country and the world fall apart, and Donald J. Trump, who will restore strength and leadership to the White House,” Ernst said on social media.
Joe Biden, Donald Trump respond to age concerns, capability in debate
Joe Biden, Donald Trump address capability and age concerns that voters have during the first 2024 presidential debate on June 27, 2024, in Atlanta.
CNN
Ernst also attacked Biden regarding his handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Biden saw his lowest approval rating — 43%, according to an NPR/PBS poll in 2021 — after 13 servicemembers were killed leaving Afghanistan.
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks highlights Donald Trump’s attacks against Joe Biden
Leading up to the debate, Miller-Meeks was on Fox News claiming that Biden could be on “stimulants” during the debate. She didn’t post about those allegations during the debate, however, she did affirm Trump’s attacks against Biden during the debate.
She called Tump’s criticism that no one in Biden’s administration was fired after the withdrawal from Afghanistan “spot on” and repeated a Trump criticism about not knowing what Biden said.
Rep. Ashley Hinson: Donald ‘Trump dominated’ first presidential debate
U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson of Iowa’s 2nd District released a statement that said regardless of politics Biden isn’t fit to be Commander-in-Chief and “was extremely concerning and hard to watch.”
“President Trump dominated tonight’s debate – he will secure our border, cut taxes for working families and restore American leadership on the world stage after four years of Biden’s failures,” Hinson said in her statement.
Rep. Randy Feenstra: Donald ‘Trump won’ the first presidential debate
U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa’s 4th District said on social media that Trump will defend the border.
“President Trump won the debate going away,” Feenstra wrote in a post calling for Iowans to elect Trump in November. “President Trump will secure the border and stop inflation. Biden’s presidency, and his debate performance, are both massive failures.”
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds: Donald Trump is the best choice
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who endorsed Trump’s opponent Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during the Iowa Caucuses, made multiple posts on social media supporting Trump’s job as president during the debate.
“Under President Trump, we had a successful economy – jobs, higher wages and opportunity,” Reynolds said on X. “Under Biden? Inflation.”
Iowa GOP chairman: ‘Donald Trump was the winner’ of CNN Debate
Iowa GOP Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said in a statement after the debate that Trump would clean up the mess that Biden made while in office.
“After tonight, it’s clear that President Donald Trump was the winner of the debate,” Kaufmann said in the statement. “Biden has once again shown the world that he is unfit to serve, a danger to our country, and an embarrassment on that stage.”
Kaufmann also attacked Iowa Democrats for celebrating Biden’s performance.
Iowa Democrats: Donald Trump will take country backward
The Iowa Democratic Party criticized Donald Trump and the “extreme agenda” of “MAGA Republicans” in a statement on social media.
Biden would create “a future that works for all of us,” the post said while highlighting headlines about union strikes, lower health care costs and climate change.
Kate Kealey is a general assignment reporter for the Register. Reach her at kkealey@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter at @Kkealey17.
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Iowa news anchor Jodi Huisentruit vanished 29 years ago on Thursday, and answers about what may have happened could lie here in Arizona.
Police and family continue to try to solve her disappearance, and there are still plenty of questions about what, if any, involvement the person of interest now living in Phoenix had.
The challenge in this case is there’s little to no forensic evidence and no eyewitnesses.
The beloved 27-year-old Jodi Huisentruit was a staple on Iowa television. Huisentruit was well-known in the Mason City community and even more admired by her family, especially by her niece Kristen Nathe.
“I had a very special relationship with her. She was also my godmother. I spent a lot of time with her, and that loss was very significant to me and still to this day,” said Nathe.
Nathe was 11 years old on June 27, 1995, and remembers the day well.
Huisentruit never made it to work that day. First, she was believed to have overslept her alarm, but then her news team realized something was wrong.
Police believe she was abducted while getting to her car that morning.
Longtime investigative journalist Caroline Lowe said there were only 30 seconds between Huisentruit leaving her apartment and getting to her car, so they believe she was targeted.
“There’s no way somebody driving by would have had time to get in, it was so fast. Somebody, we believe, was waiting for her, whether it was a stalker or somebody she knew. We don’t know,” said Lowe.
A man named John Vansice showed up at the crime scene. The nearly 50-year-old was good friends with Huisentruit and often went boating with her and her friends.
He claimed he was the last to see Huisentruit when she came over to watch a birthday video at his house the night before.
“They’ve interviewed me twice, but they haven’t made any indication that I’m a suspect,” Vansice said to a reporter at the time.
He became a person of interest and has remained so, but Lowe said Huisentruit didn’t leave any warning signs about Vansice.
“From Jodi’s journal she did a number of social things with him. She had a great time at a birthday party he hosted. There’s no indication in the journal they’re anything but good friends,” said Lowe.
Lowe is part of the “Find Jodi” team and website committed to Huisentruit’s case.
Their team uncovered court documents showing that Mason City Police executed a search warrant for GPS data on two cars linked to Vansice in March 2017.
The information is sealed.
On this 29th anniversary, True Crime Arizona went to Vansice’s Phoenix home to try and talk to him, but despite a TV blaring the news inside, no one answered.
Huisentruit’s niece said at this point, she has a personal message for Vansice.
“What I personally would ask is that if he has more information regarding Jodi or the situation, that he comes forward and shares that information, especially if he considered himself to be such a close friend of Jodi. Um, help us. Help us to solve this case,” said Nathe.
Vansice has maintained his innocence and has never been charged in the case.
The “Find Jodi” team honored her life Thursday morning and has kept billboards up in Iowa.
If you have any information on Jodi’s disappearance, you can reach out to the Find Jodi web page.
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Copyright 2024 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa City received $3,752,000 from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development as a part of the department’s pathways to removing obstacles housing program, or PRO Housing.
Iowa City is part of a small group of cities around the country to receive funding from the department of housing and urban development.
“Our housing supply has not kept up with the rising demand. As a result, we have a laser focus on this council to ensure that people can get the housing they need at the prices they can afford,” said Bruce Teague, Iowa City Mayor.
The HUD’s assistant secretary for administration presented the award. She said the grant’s money could have nationwide impact.
”We anticipate that this first round of pro funding will result in tens of thousands of new homes for the American people. Including right here in Iowa City,” said de León Bhargava.
More than 175 cities applied for the grant, and Iowa City is one of just 21 cities receiving it. According to Iowa City’s PRO Housing profile, the city is expected to grow by an additional 10-thousand residents and needs 46-hundred new housing units to meet demand. The profile also said 22% of homeowners and 61% of renters in Iowa city are housing cost burdened.
While Iowa City doesn’t expect the grant money to fully solve it’s housing problems, Mayor Bruce Teague said the funds will provide a new baseline to move forward.
”So we’re gonna be setting a template through this process for us to produce more affordable housing.”
Christine Hayes is the director of development at Shelter House in Iowa City. She says having the grant money will make the biggest impact for people who are right on the margin of affordable housing.
”Ultimately every time you bring a person out of homelessness or into stable housing, that is life changing,” Hayes said.
The Biden-Harris administration will also release a second round of 100 million dollars in PRO Housing funding later this summer. Iowa City is still eligible to apply for the second round of funding.
Copyright 2024 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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