ICYMI: “Hinson Backed Tax Credits That Helped Her Husband’s Company”
American Journal News: “Hinson Pushed for Tax Credits That Allowed Her Husband’s Future Business to Save Millions of Dollars”
DES MOINES – A report from American Journal News has discovered that Ashley Hinson pushed for tax credits that have helped her husband’s business “save millions of dollars.”
According to the report, Hinson’s husband’s business got letters of support from local stakeholders – one from a group that Hinson earmarked for $3 million in federal funding and another whose owners gave $51,500 to her campaign.
Key Context: This isn’t the first time Hinson has fought for policies that have helped her own bottom line. Earlier this summer, Iowa Starting Line found that she spent years self-dealing in Congress by rigging the tax code for wealthy families like hers, so they could “shield” much of their “multimillion-dollar private business holdings” from taxes.
Last week, it was revealed Hinson’s husband holds a “government affairs post at a leading insurance industry lobbying group”and used his post to “gain access to Hinson and other Iowa lawmakers” and “blur the lines” as a shadow lobbyist.
Missed the report? See below for more key highlights:
American Journal News: Hinson backed tax credits that helped her husband’s company
- Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson pushed for tax credits that allowed her husband’s future business to save millions of dollars.
- For years, housing projects approved by the Iowa Economic Development Authority were eligible for a sales tax refund and an investment tax credit that could be up to 10% of a project’s total cost.
- In 2017, when Hinson was serving in the Iowa House, she backed S.F. 488, which reserved $5 million in these incentives for housing projects in smaller cities. It also increased the available credit for these projects to 20%.
- In other words, a developer building a $2 million project in Hinson’s largely rural district could now apply for a $400,000 tax credit, double what was previously available.
- Hinson voted in 2019 to increase the reserved incentives from $5 million to $10 million. She ran for Congress the following year on a platform that included expanding tax incentives for rural developers.
- Hinson’s husband, Matthew Arenholz, co-founded BAM Development LLC in 2021, which builds and operates apartment complexes across the Midwest. His co-founders were Iowa Reps. Joe Mitchell and Michael Bousselot. Mitchell served with Hinson and also supported S.F. 488.
- In order to receive the S.F. 488 credit, BAM Development had to submit letters of support from local stakeholders. One letter came from Sukup Manufacturing Co., a manufacturer of grain storage, drying, and handling equipment based in Smithfield, IA. Members of the Sukup family donated a combined $47,500 to Hinson’s congressional campaigns. They gave another $4,000 to her leadership PAC.
- Another letter came from the North Iowa Corridor Economic Development Corporation (NICEDC), a nonprofit focused on private economic development in Mason City, Clear Lake, and greater Cerro Gordo County, all of which are in Hinson’s district.
- Last year, Hinson helped NICEDC secure $3 million in public funding through her role on the House Appropriations Committee. Hinson’s written requests for the funding asserted that she had no financial interest in NICEDC.
###