Leader of state employee union calls for tax increase instead of pay freeze

The leader of the union most state workers belong to says it’s time for legislators to consider a tax shift — or tax increase — rather than ask state workers to accept a pay freeze. AFSCME council 61 president Jan Corderman says members of her union believe it’s time for state policymakers to look at the revenue side of things, which means taxes. Corderman says union workers agreed to a four-month pay freeze in July, August, September and October of last year. Corderman says another pay freeze would be like a tax increase on state workers, and she says that’s not fair. Corderman says state workers are not interested in talking about another salary freeze. Corderman says the union believes the tax structure needs to be revamped so it is fairer, and so the state collects more taxes. Republican legislators and Democrat Governor Tom Vilsack have all said they’re not interested in raising taxes as a way of fixing the state budget mess. Corderman says lawmakers should consider rolling back some of the tax breaks they’ve granted over the past decade. Corderman says, for example, sales tax is no longer charged on airplane parts which benefits few Iowans. In addition, Corderman says corporations aren’t paying their fair share.Corderman says lawmakers should close tax loopholes that allow businesses to get out of paying taxes by hiding assets off-shore.