House and Senate Republicans have given up on asking democrat Governor Tom Vilsack to accept 300 million dollars worth of income tax cuts as part of a deal to resurrect the “Iowa Values” state economic development program. Senate Republicans are instead asking Vilsack to agree to phase-out the state taxes the elderly pay on their Social Security income. Senate Republican Leader Stewart Iverson of Dows says 24 states do not tax Social Security income. Iverson says seniors are moving out of Iowa because of that tax on their Social Security income, and he says they want to make sure the seniors stay here. He says erasing that tax will keep more here in Iowa, and that helps community organizations and churches that depend on seniors for charitable contributions. Iverson says now the governor has two options to consider — one from Senate Republicans and one from Republicans in the House. Iverson says Republicans in the Legislature are “bending over backwards to try and resolve this” and now it’s time for Vilsack to give a little. But a spokesman for Governor Vilsack says the governor’s waiting for republicans to agree on one alternative and he will not consider either the House or Senate G-O-P plan independently. Iverson says that’s a “cop out” and if the governor won’t accept anything then republicans “are done because the governor keeps telling (them) no.”
