Roberts Moves to Eliminate Corporate Income Tax

Friday, January 22, 2010, 4:00
Iowa, News Center
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rroberts Republican gubernatorial candidate Rod Roberts filed a bill today in the Iowa House of Representatives to eliminate the state corporate income tax. Over the past several months of his gubernatorial campaign, Roberts has pledged to work toward eliminating the tax. Filing the bill in the Iowa House marks the first step toward the tax’s elimination.

Roberts says eliminating the state corporate income tax is necessary to solve Iowa’s job-loss crisis. Iowa’s unemployment rate of 6.7% is one of the state’s highest unemployment rates in 20 years, and over 110,000 Iowans are currently out of work. To make matters worse, John Morrell & Co. announced yesterday that it will be closing its plant in Sioux City. The closure will result in the loss of 1,450 more jobs.

“The closure of the John Morrell & Co. plant in Sioux City illustrates just how serious the unemployment situation in Iowa has become,” said Roberts, a five-term State Representative from Carroll. “Iowans need a bold solution to end the state’s job-loss crisis. By eliminating the state corporate income tax, not only will new businesses be drawn to the state for its lower taxes, but existing Iowa businesses will also be in a better economic position to add employees.”

The bill filed by Roberts will now likely proceed to the Ways and Means Committee in the Iowa House. Roberts hopes the committee will approve the bill quickly so that it can be debated before the full House of Representatives soon.

“Now is the time for leadership and action,” said Roberts, an Assistant Minority Leader in the Iowa House. “The closing of John Morrell & Co.’s plant in Sioux City is just the latest illustration of how bad Iowa’s unemployment crisis really is. We can fix this problem, but we must take action to create jobs. Now more than ever, eliminating the corporate income tax is the right thing to do.”

For more general information regarding Roberts’s gubernatorial campaign, please visit www.RobertsForGov.com.

Photo by Dave Davidson

Tags: Campaign 2010, Roberts, Taxes

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14 Comments on “Roberts Moves to Eliminate Corporate Income Tax”

Timmy wrote on 22 January, 2010, 6:52
This is something that has needed to be addressed for quite sometime. Despite BVP’s absolute inept comments, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to look across the “Big Sioux” and see that Iowa’s taxes are running off $$$ that should be staying in the state.
Deace voted for Obama wrote on 22 January, 2010, 8:51
Good for Roberts!!! He gets it!!
VastVariety wrote on 22 January, 2010, 9:05
If the state eliminates corporate taxes while still having individual taxes won’t it lean harder on individuals to make up for the loss of revenue from corporations? If it eliminates both then how will the state pay for things like law enforcement, highway maintenance (those plows that have been keeping the snow clear are expensive), and teachers?
Eric Rosenthal wrote on 22 January, 2010, 9:29
How states without income taxes pay for services–primarily property taxes and sales taxes: http://web.bu.edu/phpbin/news-cms/news/?dept=1368&id=51338
VastVariety wrote on 22 January, 2010, 10:46
If we’re going to start eliminating taxes the first one I’d want to see go is property taxes. They are all ready far higher than they need to be and local city governments have far too much ability to raise them without any recourse of the people.

Sales taxes generally end up hurting the poor and middle class far more than anyone else as the wealthy are better able to work around them.
Waywardson wrote on 22 January, 2010, 12:03
VV: It is a LIE that sales taxes hurt the poor and middle class more. It is Income taxes and the very complex laws the rich can avoid with lawyers and specialists. The working people just pay them and wait for their over payment refund check in the spring. A sales tax ALSO taxes the illegals, those paid off the books, drug traffickers and criminals, and the rich BUY more and BUY NEW.

Property taxes are LOCAL taxes, but you are right, that system needs reform as well. Taxing improvements instead of land value (a centuries old debate) is what causes urban spreading and inner city blight. But that is a whole ‘nother debate.

As far as Robert’s bill goes? A+ Corporations WILL come back to Iowa and that means JOBS and that means revenue. Even the great Democratic Icon JFK spoke this truth.
HawkCR1 wrote on 23 January, 2010, 8:30
Iowa’s got the highest corporate income tax in the Midwest…even higher than Illinois if you can believe that….We’re near dead last in the country in new business start ups. Why? Because Iowa has created with Democrat legislatures and Governors a toxic environment for jobs and economic growth, VV

You talk about property taxes, VV….We need a complete, total overhaul of the property tax system… We need to look at EVERYTHING quite frankly in our tax structure. I mean, hell VV…your friends in the Legislature are seriously giving consideration to taxing people on the federal taxes they already have to pay!

They’re giving serious consideration to giving cities and counties the authority to start levying LOCAL income taxes on people…..

The attitude of those in control in Des Moines can be best summed up by what a local legislator in Iowa City said in a forum last year–”Its not that we have a spending problem….we have a revenue problem and we need more of it”
Waywardson wrote on 23 January, 2010, 9:43
I wonder what happened to the JFK Democrats who understood 2,000 year old simple economics? JFK CUT tax rates and had enough of an economic boom to afford to go to the moon. These modern Dems, despite the results they can see with their own eyes, just want to just tax us to the moon.
VastVariety wrote on 25 January, 2010, 8:09
In most states where the tax burden is higher on the poor and middle class than on the wealthy are states with higher sales taxes.

Eliminate property taxes and then we can talk about raising sales taxes.
HawkCR1 wrote on 25 January, 2010, 8:39
Vast..

You don’t get it…Iowa ALREADY has a very high income tax on the middle class. If you make more than 63,000 in a year, you’re in Iowa’s top income tax bracket of 8.98%. If you’re making barely 21,000 year, you’re taxed at nearly 6.5%!!

Add that with increasing property taxes….and the blood lust of your Democrat friends to end federal deductability and to permit cities and counties to being levying LOCAL income taxes on people…Iowans are seeing less and less in their checkbooks every year.

The current system we have now isn’t working. Its punishing hard work and success.
VastVariety wrote on 25 January, 2010, 10:13
HawkCR1, you are completely not understanding my position.