Iowans value their schools, parks, public safety and infrastructure, as well as measures to assure some level of economic security for farmers and families. Yet, threats to these values have surfaced through misleading rhetoric and lost resources. What do the facts show?
Read policy brief or download 6-page PDF 10/6/10
Andrew Cannon guest opinion in The Des Moines Register 10/22/10
Iowa Fiscal Partnership Debate Prep Notebook 10/6/10

It's a great deal for developers with no public return, but the idea to allow cities to give away state sales tax money is back on the table.
IFP Policy Brief, 4 pages (PDF) 3/1/10

The first report designed to shed light on who's getting the state's generous Research Activities Credit is a start toward better accountability, but there's a lot left out.
IFP statement, 2 pages (PDF) 2/15/10
Backgrounder, 1 page (PDF) HTML 2/9/10

Iowa's generous and largely accountable tax-credit structure for business are being reviewed by a panel set up by Governor Culver. The examination is necessary and long overdue, so Iowans and their policy makers can see what is working and what is not.

Iowa Fiscal Partnership reports have illustrated the problem in recent years. A couple of those reports:
The Revenue Roots of Iowa's State Budget Crisis (PDF, 6 pgs) 2/19/09
Iowa Budget Belt-Tightening: Focusing on the Largest Waists Graphs (PDF, 3 pgs) 2/23/09

Iowa voters by wide margins want a balanced approach to resolving Iowa's budget crisis, with nearly six in 10 favoring some use of taxes and fees in the mix. By about the same margin, Iowa voters believe the wealthiest Iowans and big multistate corporations aren't paying their fair share of taxes.
Voter Views Part 1 (PDF, 4 pg) 12/2/09
Voter Views Part 2 (PDF, 4 pg) 12/8/09
News Release (PDF, 2 pg)

Moderate- and low-income Iowans pay more of their income in state and local taxes than the rich do, according to a new report that prompted fresh calls for state income-tax reform.
IFP Data Sheet (PDF, 1 pg) 11/18/09
News Release (PDF, 2 pg)
See the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy's Full 50-State Report.

Increased Medicaid spending has an economic benefit for the state of Iowa far greater than the federal government’s initial investment — about $1.68 for each dollar invested.
IFP Policy brief (PDF, 5 pg) 11/12/09
News release (PDF, 2 pg)

All Iowans' tax rates would drop, revenues would no longer be tied to federal tax policy, and small businesses, farmers, students and moderate-income households would benefit under proposed tax reforms.
Policy brief (4 pg) (PDF). 4/9/09
Backgrounder on individual tax scenarios (2 pg) (PDF). 4/9/09
Backgrounder showing tax-rate cuts by income (1 pg) (PDF). 4/21/09
News release. 4/9/09
Peter Fisher's op-ed in the Iowa City Press-Citizen. 4/9/09
Policy brief (3 pg) (PDF). 3/27/09
Beth Pearson's testimony (1 pg) for House hearing (PDF). 3/31/09
"Focus on Facts" David Osterberg on IowaPolicyPoints.org. 4/2/09

Iowans need to remember: Services provided by state and local governments help families and the Iowa economy, and the budget crisis cannot be met solely on the spending side of the ledger.
Iowa Fiscal Partnership statement PDF, 1 pg 10/28/09
Iowa Fiscal Partnership statement on governor's action PDF, 1 pg 10/8/09
Iowa Fiscal Partnership statement on revenue estimates PDF, 1 pg 10/7/09

Fiscal policy issues raised by the controversy with Iowa's film credit program should be of as much concern as the very serious management issues that have brought on a state investigation. All issues surrounding the credit should be addressed before lawmakers decide whether to reinstate any form of a film development incentive.
5-page report PDF, 1 pg 10/8/09
Iowa Fiscal Partnership statements PDF, 1 pg 10/5/09 PDF, 1 pg 9/21/09

There is no magic answer to Iowa's budget problems. This brief — cited in the Aug. 5 editorial in The Des Moines Register — outlines the budget landscape but stresses the need for fresh information.
Backgrounder HTML or PDF, 3 pg 7/31/09
News release PDF, 2 pg

Dramatically lowered revenue estimates make federal "stimulus" funds especially important to shore up the budget, and where possible, avoid cuts and layoffs that could deepen the recession in Iowa. Policy brief (8 pg) , backgrounder (1 pg) (PDFs). 3/24/09
News release on REC report 3/20/09

Iowa workers would receive about $7.7 million in benefits, but the unemployment insurance program would gain three times as much in federal financing with reforms to modernize Iowa's unemployment insurance sysem. Backgrounder (PDF). 3/11/09

Understanding the causes of Iowa's current budget crisis is crucial to crafting good policy in response. And Iowans can't understand it unless they look seriously at the revenue roots of the problem. 2/19/09
Report (6 pages, PDF) News release (PDF)

Everyone is talking about tightening belts. Make sure that effort focuses on the largest waists: skyrocketing costs of largely unchecked tax credits for businesses. 2/23/09
Report (3 pages, PDF) News release (PDF)

State fiscal relief from the federal government recognizes that states may not deficit spend — but that state spending can help the economy while serving people in need.
2-page backgrounder PDF. 2/3/09

Iowa policy makers have options to avoid deepening the recession.
4-page backgrounder PDF. 2/3/09

Local income surtaxes in Iowa, in practice and potential. Includes revenue estimates for 22 Iowa cities.
Backgrounder (PDF). News release (PDF).1/26/09

Iowa’s budget picture has changed markedly since July. Why? Backgrounder (PDF). 1/16/09

Governor Culver wants to assure "everything's on the table" to balance the state budget while upholding investments in a green economy, education and health care. That must include wasteful, secret subsidies to big companies through the tax code.
News release (PDF).1/13/09
Video of Des Moines Register interview with IPP's Peter Fisher.1/22/09
Budget graphs (2-page PDF).1/23/09

Iowa policy makers should address the state’s budget crunch with choices that do not worsen the recession but do assure scrutiny on seldom-reviewed spending on tax breaks. Open letter to policy makers (5-pg PDF). 1/2/09

Corporate giveaways are a good place to look for spending cuts. Briefing paper (3-pg PDF), News release (PDF). 12/10/08

The latest revenue forecast, a deficit for FY09, shows Iowa needs a comprehensive look at its fiscal health. News release (PDF). 12/12/08

Iowa lawmakers are almost certain to face immediate and severe budget challenges when they reconvene. News release (PDF). 12/10/08

For the fourth year in a row, fewer than 1 percent of Iowa estates were affected by the federal estate tax in 2007, as shown by the nonpartisan Citizens for Tax Justice. CTJ Report (PDF) and IPP News release (PDF). 12/3/08

Health-care and education investments are at risk for Iowa as the state's population becomes proportionately older. Full report (PDF), Executive summary (PDF) and News release (PDF). 12/1/08

City revenue reform can help encourage sustainable, responsible and fair development. Full report, executive summary, news release. 11/13/08

Too often in the past, natural resources funding has lost out to state budget cuts or has been raided to pay for other public programs. Any sustainable funding source to correct this problem should also be fair to all Iowa taxpayers How can this be designed? Backgrounder. 11/12/08

Lower-income non-elderly households in Iowa pay a much greater share of their meager incomes in state and local taxes than high-income families pay. Backgrounder. news release. 11/10/08

The Rebuild Iowa Advisory Commission correctly focuses on a quick and sustained approach to meet housing needs following Iowa's 2008 storm disasters, but misses on one proposed tool by promoting the discredited enterprise zone program. Report, news release 9/4/08

Iowa's flood-recovery planning must recognize challenges faced by low-income families, according to a new report that notes low-income flood victims were already at the margins in a sluggish Iowa economy before the floods. Report, news release, fact sheet 8/19/08

Tax policy is likely to fail as an efficient or effective response to Iowa's flooding disaster. Property tax responses, especially, miss the mark on key principles for effective policy. Report, news release 8/13/08
Three Ts: Flood responses should be timely, targeted and transitional. Report, news release 8/12/08
Low-income residents were particularly hurt by flooding in Cedar Rapids. Report 8/12/08

Farm buildings and farmland need to be assessed and taxed separately as a first step toward a more understandable and fair system of assessing Iowa farm property. The current system is outdated and doesn't reflect the productivity of modern agricultural operations, say authors of a new Iowa Fiscal Partnership report. Report, executive summary (4 pg), news release 7/16/08

Iowa retailers receive a 7-cent fee on every Food Stamp purchase - unlike other electronic transactions, and unlike any other state. Like many generous Iowa business subsidies, its public benefits are not evident. Backgrounder, news release 6/9/08

Iowa spent about $300 million in enterprise zone (EZ) subsidies from 2003-07 in a “monster” program needing a major overhaul. Read the report, executive summary and the two-page news release 4/21/08
Radio Iowa story or Des Moines Register story

Iowa legislators are considering legislation that would switch the existing School Infrastructure Local Option (SILO) sales tax to a statewide penny sales tax. The proposal holds mixed implications for low-income Iowans and tax equity issues in the state. Read the report and the two-page backgrounder 4/4/08

Read Peter Fisher's perspective in The Des Moines Register. Also, see him on IPTV's "Iowa Journal" program, or view the transcript.

A radical departure from Iowa tax policy allows cities to divert local-option sales-tax money without approval of voters or other jurisdictions that could have expected the funds. Neither the governor nor legislators said why. News release 5/21/08

On issues of tax fairness, Iowa's personal income tax system falls most short in its tax treatment of families with children. In fact, Iowa's income tax system is the most skewed against families with children of any state income tax system in the country. Expanding Iowa's Earned Income Tax Credit can improve the lot of those families. Read the two-page backgrounder.

The research is in and the data are clear: Iowa's outdated, and increasingly leaky, tax code needs reform. Over time, special provisions have been incorporated to give advantage to different special interests, while tax accountants and attorneys have found ways to manipulate the code to help their clients escape taxes. A prime example of how our tax code has been skewed to benefit the wealthy: Iowa's special treatment of capital gains. Read the two-page backgrounder.

Rapid growth in the adoption and use of tax credits are contributing to an unsustainable, structurally imbalanced budget in Iowa, suggesting lawmakers should take a step back and immediately (1) provides for public disclosure of the beneficiaries of all business-directed tax credits; (2) revise and limit existing tax credits; and (3) establish a moratorium on the enactment of any additional tax credits. Read the two-page backgrounder.

Iowa law allows multistate corporations to unilaterally cut their own taxes, putting their Main Street competitors in Iowa at a disadvantage. Read the backgrounder.

Also see a map of states that have cracked down on corporate tax loopholes with something called "combined reporting," and the press release.

Long overdue reforms to make business taxes more fair to Iowa-based firms and to improve recycling efforts are part of Gov. Chet Culver's proposals in his "Condition of the State" message. Read the press release.

See the KCRG-TV report, and coverage from Radio Iowa, The Des Moines Register and Quad-City Times, and hear IPP's Beth Pearson and David Osterberg on WHO Radio's "Mickelson in the Morning" program.