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.
The state House and Senate ways and means committees passed bills Monday reforming Iowa’s tax credit system, saving an estimated $115 million in the next few years.
Democrats unveiled their ideas last week at a press conference. Both the Senate and House bill would suspend the film tax credit program for two years; lower the cap from $185 million to $120 million on business tax credits; cut the Iowa Fund of Funds contingent tax credits from $100 million to $60 million; cut the Supplemental Research Activities Tax Credit in half for large corporations; and overall cut 10 percent for many other tax credit programs.
The bill also calls for regular evaluation of credits, and those which do not produce results will be fixed or eliminated.
State Rep. Paul Shomshor, D-Council Bluffs, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, called the bill a small step forward, but business groups warned that it could send a signal that Iowa is closed for business. David Roederer, executive director of the Iowa Chamber Alliance, told the Quad City Times that the changes could hurt the large employers that employ a majority of Iowa’s work force.
However, many economists don’t believe Iowa’s tax credit program contributes to job creation, with one telling the Iowa Independent that it simply ends up being a “race to the bottom” as state’s try to offer more tax breaks to companies in order to lure them into their communities.
“Infrastructure, amenities, education, it all suffers, and thus, the Midwest becomes a less desirable place to do business,” Dave Swenson, an economist at Iowa State University, told The Iowa Independent previously. “The Midwest, including Iowa, is doing more damage to itself than anything else.”
The state Department of Revenue reported Monday that tax-credit awards totaled $351.9 million in the current fiscal year, $444.9 million in fiscal 2011 and $502.7 million in fiscal 2012.
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