Iowans for Tax Relief is launching a campaign tied to the NIPSCO power outage-style rollout of a proposed Iowa constitutional amendment that would make future income tax increases harder. Chris Hagenow said the group wants voters to notice that the measure is on the back of the general election ballot.
The amendment would require income tax increases on individuals or corporations to win support from two-thirds of legislators, replacing the simple majority now needed in Iowa. Hagenow said the change would make tax hikes a last resort for lawmakers making state spending decisions.
Chris Hagenow and Iowans for Tax Relief
Hagenow, the president of Iowans for Tax Relief, said the campaign is built around voter awareness. The group has also set up a website called make tax hikes harder dot com, part of its effort to push the ballot measure before voters decide it in the general election.
The proposal has already won approval twice from Republicans in the Iowa legislature. Republican Governor Kim Reynolds is expressing support for the concept in this one, adding a second line of political backing behind the campaign.
Kim Reynolds since May of 2017
Reynolds became governor in May of 2017, and since then she has signed legislation to reduce Iowa's individual income tax, now a flat rate of three-point-eight percent, lower Iowa's corporate income tax, and eliminate state income taxes on retirement income. Those steps give the campaign a record it can point to as it argues for a tighter voting threshold on future tax increases.
Democrats who have opposed requiring a supermajority vote in the legislature to raise income taxes say the proposal would worsen a state budget crisis by limiting lawmakers' ability to respond. That dispute now moves to Iowa voters, who will see whether the state should keep the current simple-majority rule or raise the bar to two-thirds for future income-tax increases.
