Legislation to raise Iowa’s sales tax by 1% is moving through the Capital, making good on a priority of Governor Kim Reynolds for the current General Assembly.

State Senator Jake Chapman, (R) District 10, says the sales tax increase would activate the Iowa’s Water and Land Legacy, or IWILL program for outdoor recreation and water quality initiatives around the state. However, Chapman says he won’t support any tax increase that isn’t accompanied by a decrease elsewhere, and he’s hopeful it will end with income tax becoming a thing of the past for Iowa. “My goal when we talk about this tax reform is making sure that we’re talking about transformational tax reform. Where we’re talking about, ‘How can we eliminate income tax in this state?’ I do support sales tax from the standpoint that I think it’s the fairest of all taxes. You control it as a consumer. But again, if we can get away from income tax that’s what we should be doing.”

Legislation involving the sales tax increase and subsequent reduction in income tax is currently being discussed at the committee level, with Chapman introducing it to the Senate Ways and Means Committee. He says it’s a starting point for the deeper discussion to be had throughout the session. There are currently seven states in the nation where there is no income tax — Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming — and two, New Hampshire and Tennessee, where they tax investments and interest but not wages. Of those states, Florida, Nevada, and Washington rank in the top 10 for strongest economy, according to the U.S. News World Report.

To learn more about this and other topics from the current legislative session, click the link below to listen tot he recent Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program with Chapman.

https://www.raccoonvalleyradio.com/2020/02/10/lets-talk-dallas-county-2-10-2020-jake-chapman/