Republican state legislators are pushing an “economic stimulus package” they say will boost investment in start-up businesses in the state. Iowa Republican Party Chairman Chuck Larson is also a voting member of the Iowa House. He says the package is designed to make Iowa more competitive.The package would extend tax credits to investors in a new “Iowa Fund of Funds” mutual fund if the project invested in goes belly-up. Larson says that’ll make it more attractive to invest in Iowa business ventures.Senator Larry McKibben, a republican from Marshalltown, says Iowa’s now 50th out of 50 states in venture capital investment. McKibben says Iowa’s position in the heartland of America should make it easier to develop.Representative James Van Fossen, a republican from Bettendorf, says the package also would give a tax break to employees of start-up companies who get paid in stock options.Van Fossen says the “economic stimulus package” will be debated in the House and Senate soon after the Legislature convenes in January.A representative of the Iowa Bankers Association says some of the ideas Iowa Republicans are pushing have been tried and are working in Oklahoma.
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