The final bill passed in the 2018 Iowa legislative session has now been signed into law by Governor Kim Reynolds. Wednesday afternoon, she signed Senate File 2417, commonly known as the “Tax Reform Bill.”

State Senator Jake Chapman (R – District 10), felt the legislature succeeded in the goals they set for the bill. That included decreasing the tax brackets from nine to four, and lowering the income tax rate from nearly 9% to around 6.5%. “I believe that (the bill) accomplished a lot of what we had in mind in trying to create a simpler tax code, and also putting money back into the pockets of Iowans. I don’t think the work is completely done there, I think we need to continue to strive to hold down state government and our expansion. And so I’m very excited about our tax reform bill.”

Opponents to the tax reform bill, such as Dallas County Democratic Party Chair Bryce Smith, point out that while it’s estimated to save taxpayers over $2 billion over the next decade, the vast majority of the savings will be felt by those who need it the least. “We want to see a tax reform bill that is fair to everyone. And what we see in this bill is that it still gives the largest corporations in our state the biggest tax cuts. And it gives the hardest-working Iowans and retired Iowans some of the strictest, and still kind of hindering tax structure.”

Smith adds, Democrats worry about how the tax cuts will be made up next year when it comes time to fund things like education and infrastructure. They hypothesize that funding will either come in the form of increased local property taxes, or it will go unmet. To learn more about the 2018 legislative session, listen to the Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County programs with Chapman and Smith by clicking the links below.

https://raccoonvalleyradio.com/2018/05/lets-talk-dallas-county-5212018-jake-chapman/

https://raccoonvalleyradio.com/2018/05/lets-talk-dallas-county-5142018-bryce-smith/