The top Republican in the Iowa Legislature says the G-O-P is examining steps which could reduce the cost of doing business in Iowa. House Speaker Christopher Rants, a Republican from Sioux City, will bang the gavel Monday to begin the Iowa Legislature’s 2004 session. Rants says “we’re going to focus on a lot of what might be considered pretty ordinary issues,” but he says Republicans want to help improve the “bottom-line” for Iowa businesses, particularly small businesses. One proposal involves reducing the taxes businesses pay the state to cover workers compensation cases involving employees who get injured on the job. Rants says Sioux City, Iowa businesses pay more per worker in workers compensation insurance in Iowa than their competitors across the border in South Dakota. Rants says it just makes sense to compare the cost of doing business in Iowa against costs in other states, and examine whether business taxes for things like workers comp or unemployment can be lowered to make Iowa’s overall tax climate more competitive.
