On Tax Day, the Iowa Democratic Party is reminding folks that Governor Reynolds’ tax giveaway proposal disproportionately benefits the wealthiest, leaving Iowa’s future in the dust.

According to a recent article in the Cedar Rapids Gazette, “children would be losers in the budget scenarios created by tax-cut plans offered by Gov. Kim Reynolds and GOP majorities in the House and Senate.” Excerpts from the article can be found below.

“The Reynolds Budget Crisis has already caused deep cuts to education, safety, and the human services that protect the dignity of Iowa communities. It is absurd that Reynolds and Republicans are now attempting to cut more than a billion dollars from state revenue. This tax day, our future is clearly nothing more than a political game to Governor Reynolds, it’s time for new leadership in Des Moines,” said Iowa Democratic Party Spokesperson Tess Seger.

CEDAR RAPIDS GAZETTE: GOP tax plans could hit children hardest

“Proposed Republican tax cut plans would have major impacts but not necessarily to the benefit of all Iowans, according to analyses presented Monday at the Capitol.

Children would be losers in the budget scenarios created by tax-cut plans offered by Gov. Kim Reynolds and GOP majorities in the House and Senate, while Iowa seniors would fare well, Charlie Bruner said at a tax briefing attended by about Democratic lawmakers and human services lobbyists.

Bruner, the former executive director of the Child and Family Policy Center, said he offered his analysis ‘as an individual citizen and without compensation from any organization.’

He concluded from his study that ‘tax reductions are not, in themselves, tax reform.’

That was not lost on his audience, some of whom questioned how Republicans can propose tax cuts when they’ve had to make midyear cuts to the budget for two years in a row.

‘I don’t see any case for the state to give up any more revenue,’ said Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City. Although he favors the ‘tax modernization’ proposals regarding e-commerce, he said the state ‘doesn’t have adequate revenue today to entertain reduction.’

Overall, Bruner said the governor’s proposal, which was the basis for the House Republican plan, would result in tax increases of nearly $6 a year for Iowans with incomes of $30,000 to $60,000 to $42 for people in the $100,000 to $250,000 range. The increases, he said, are the net effect of charging sales taxes on the “new economy,” such as online shopping.

Those with incomes less than $30,000 would see a cut of about $18.

‘I don’t know if that’s enough for a Happy Meal for a family of four,’ Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, said.”

“If the Legislature adopts tax changes that reduce state revenue, Bruner said, children and families could feel the largest effect.

That’s because about 72 percent of the Iowa budget goes toward services that directly or indirectly impact children, Bruner said. In the $7.24 billion 2017 budget, 41 percent goes to school aid, 18 percent for Medicaid and 12 percent for higher education.

‘Anything you do that erodes revenue almost necessarily will affect kids in one budget item or another,’ he said.”