Chamber says tax and economic development package important

While some advocacy groups are urging the governor to veto the income tax package linked to his Iowa Values fund, saying it would give most benefits to the rich and cut state revenues, others say it’s a welcome development. The Iowa Chamber Alliance and Professional Developers of Iowa represent seventeen of the state’s largest communities, and leading economic-development directors. Still, state economic-development director Michael Blouin says it’s not certain what the governor will do. Blouin says it’s not his job to pressure the governor, but to tell him what may work or not, and Blouin says he’ll make whatever he’s given work. The governor may decide this week on the fund, and Iowa companies will be watching to if there’s any economic-development money for them. Blouin points to Trans-Ova, the northwest Iowa biotech company that wants ten to thirty million dollars from the state.Blouin says Trans-Ova is “incredibly important” to the state but so is the capacity of universities to do state-of-the-art science research, and there isn’t enough money for both in the bill. He says the state can’t even start talks with Trans-Ova till it knows if it has a fundable bill, and doesn’t have the answer yet to that question. Blouin says even if the governor approves the 500-million-dollar Iowa Values fund, he can’t start talks with companies till a board is put in place to approve such deals.