Vilsack says he’ll take his time studying economic package

Governor Tom Vilsack says he will not make a snap decision on the economic stimulus package legislators passed this week in “special” session, a package that includes a half billion dollar state economic development fund and a $300 million income tax cut. Vilsack says he and his staff are reviewing the “rather massive bill” and once he’s comfortable he understands the complex details, he’ll start making decisions. Vilsack is raising concerns about the tax cut. Vilsack says Iowans who earn more than a quarter of a million dollars a year will get a tax cut of about $120 per week, while the 250,000 Iowans who earn less than $10,000 a year will get a three-cents-per-week income tax cut. On top of that, he says those Iowans will likely pay more taxes to the state since the package retains the state sales tax on utility bills which lawmakers had promised to erase. Vilsack says that’s a detail that didn’t come out in the legislative debate and he says it’s the kind of detail he needs to unearth in order to make an intelligent decision. There is a possibility Vilsack could item veto the income tax cut and even the regulatory reforms proposed in the package, and sign the rest into law, but the Governor says he’s not ready to talk about those kind of details yet. Vilsack made his comments last night on KUNI radio.