Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
An improper tax deduction received by Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, is the result of a mistake by the property tax department for the District of Columbia, according to a letter from the agency provided to The Des Moines Register.
Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call reported Wednesday that King, along with three other members of Congress, was improperly receiving a D.C. homestead tax credit, which is not supposed to be available to those who claim residency in another state even if they have a home in the nation’s capitol.
King told Roll Call the local tax agency must have made a mistake, and Thursday provided a letter to The Register confirming his statement.
Records reflect that King’s property “has been inadvertently receiving the homestead deduction,” Richie McKeithen, director of the real property tax administration for the District of Columbia, said in a letter to King dated Thursday.
King has agreed to pay the back taxes, according to his spokesman.
The news of King’s improper tax break had become a hot topic of conversation in newspapers and blogs around the state. The confusion surrounds the fact that in Iowa, a homestead deduction has to be specifically requested when buying a new home. Some also wondered how King could not know he was receiving the exemption, since it is noted on the D.C. property tax bills homeowners receive twice a year, including a calculation of any savings.
McKeithen’s letter said the homestead deduction most likely occurred by someone in the D.C. office transfering it to King from the previous owner.
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