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Does Iowa know when to walk away?
Peter Fisher There’s Texas Hold ’Em,” and then there’s “Iowa Fold ’Em.” Wouldn’t you just love to play poker against the folks who run this state? They never call a bluff. Companies come calling with...
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The $54 question
Breaking news out of Des Moines is that many Iowa taxpayers will be eligible for an extra $54 tax credit. This is the result of one of the most short-sighted pieces of legislation passed by the Iowa...
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State aid up 13 percent — for business breaks
What do you expect would be the outcry if Iowa’s public schools asked for 13 percent growth in state aid? Yet few bat an eye when this happens with business tax breaks, as we can expect for FY2017.*...
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Kansans deliver tax-cut cautions for Iowans
As part of Moral Mondays at the Iowa State Capitol, Iowa advocates and lawmakers this week heard a cautionary tale from Annie McKay of Kansas Action for Children and Duane Goossen of the Kansas Center...
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Rosy forecasts bring thorny budgets
A memo from the Legislative Services Agency (LSA) indicates a higher-than-anticipated cost of a special-interest sales-tax break primarily for manufacturers. We could not afford it when Governor Terry...
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Closing the books — why real math matters
Or: How Governor Branstad claimed to reach his jobs goal but did not come close As it all turned out, the job-growth goal set by former Governor Terry Branstad was at best ambitious, and never...
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Protect Iowa taxpayers from bad spin
“Protecting Iowa’s taxpayers,” reads the headline on the newspaper column, but the column contradicts that. On the pages of major state newspapers this week, Iowans for Tax Relief (ITR) is offering its...
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Beware corporate tax con job
EDITOR’S NOTE: A version of this piece appeared in the Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017, Cedar Rapids Gazette. Online version here. Those pushing the tax bill now before Congress have a tough job. They have to...
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Rest/best/worst of the story
Senator Joni Ernst is using Facebook to gin up support for the new tax bill. It is a one-sided picture, to say the least. So, what does it really mean for Iowans that the tax bill is law? Middle and...
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Perspective for the common good on Tax Day
It is so tempting, as we are seeing on social media over the last several days, to talk about filing your taxes and the fact that you (1) paid more or (2) paid less. Is that really what matters? Let’s...
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