Governor Kim Reynolds is using nearly 40 percent of the federal coronavirus relief money Iowa received to cover unemployment benefits. She's depositing $490 million dollars into the state's Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. Iowa Association of Business and Industry president Mike Ralston says … [Read more...]
Governor approves tax break for higher blends of biofuels like E15, B20
Governor Kim Reynolds has approved legislation that reduces the state tax on gas with an ethanol blend of 15 percent or higher. It applies the same six-cent per gallon break to 20 percent or higher blends of biodiesel. "It's going to make higher blend biofuels even cheaper at the pump, making it … [Read more...]
Iowa House GOP proposing $7.85 billion state spending plan
A spokesman for the House Speaker says Republicans in the Iowa House have come up with a "status quo" spending plan for the next state fiscal year that begins July 1st. At the end of May, a state panel predicted state tax revenue will drop by $360 million in the next 12 months due to the … [Read more...]
Travel and car sales increasing as pandemic restrictions lift
Traffic and the sale of new cars are both picking back up as the state emerges from the shut down brought on by the coronavirus. Iowa Department of Transportation director of planning, Stuart Anderson, told the Transportation Commission during a workshop Monday traffic numbers bottomed out the … [Read more...]
Two Iowa cities make list for best Census response rate
State leaders are issuing another challenge to Iowans about filling out their census forms, as we're in a close race with other states in the region. Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg, who chairs the Iowa 2020 U.S. Census Complete Count Committee, says a new campaign called "Key to the Future" is … [Read more...]
Prediction of state’s tax take lowered by $360 million
Iowa lawmakers will have to pare down the state spending plans they were drafting before the pandemic hit. The state Revenue Estimating Conference met this afternoon and lowered its estimate of state tax collections. The governor's budget director and a division chief from the Legislative … [Read more...]
State Rep calls for legislative oversight of Test Iowa
A north-central Iowa state representative is asking legislative leaders to review the performance of the Test Iowa program. The state entered into a no-bid, $26 million contract with Nomi Health of Utah to provide expanded testing for the state. Representative Sharon Steckman, a Democrat from … [Read more...]
Tax payments to State of Iowa dropped 39% last month
State tax revenues plunged 39 percent in April. One reason for that double-digit drop is the delayed deadline for paying state income taxes. Individuals and corporations normally must pay their state income taxes by April 30th, but during the pandemic state officials pushed the due date to July … [Read more...]
Some state tax deadlines approaching
While several tax filing deadlines have been pushed back by the state and federal governments, other tax deadlines are still in place and Iowans are warned to be aware. John Fuller, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Revenue, says one such deadline that remains unchanged is … [Read more...]
Drop in travel means less money for the road construction fund
The director of the Department of Transportation says the agency is moving forward with road construction as the weather allows -- but funding could become an issue. DOT Planner Stuart Anderson says traffic volume is down as many businesses are closed by the pandemic and people are staying home. … [Read more...]