Senator Brad Zaun Is Bringing The Trump Tax Scam To Iowa

Governor Kim Reynolds and the Republican-controlled Legislature already face a major state budget crisis with declining revenue forecasts. Their current budget drastically fails to meet the essential funding for Iowans’ education needs, mental health demands, water cleanup and much more.

Reynolds must first repay the money she borrowed from this year’s budget to balance last year’s budget. In addition, the current forecasts predict more cuts will be inevitable for this year as well. Proposing cuts to state tax revenue at this time would be committing fiscal suicide. Yet that’s the proposal Senator Brad Zaun (R-Urbandale) proposed for the new year.

In a January 1^st interview with Des Moines’ KCCI News, Senator Zaun pitched one of Iowa Republicans’ primary targets for this year’s legislative session. His goal is to duplicate the Trump Tax Scam on Iowa taxpayers.

“Obviously there’s going to be a reduction in your taxes on the federal level, it is our goal to reduce the same on the state level. But most importantly to just simplify it. There are just too many brackets,” said Zaun.

More tax cuts that would further reduce Iowa’s tax revenue is a recipe for economic disaster. Still, Republicans are setting the stage for major tax cuts. Zaun introduced a bill in 2016 to eliminate the Iowa state income tax and replace it with an increase in the Iowa sales tax to 11%. Zaun’s proposal follows closely in philosophy to the Trump Tax Scam. Since a sales tax is extremely regressive, the benefits would go to the wealthiest Iowans and penalize lower-income Iowans. Just as the Trump/GOP federal tax scam awarded the richest Americans, Zaun hopes to mimic that here in Iowa. Zaun was the first elected state official to endorse Trump before the 2016 caucuses.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Dix has gone even further than Zaun by proposing to eliminate both the Iowa state income tax and Iowa corporate income taxes. Dix is cheering for a South Dakota tax model. South Dakota has no corporate or personal income tax; they rely on a sales tax. Several Republicans have proposed less drastic tax changes but it’s clear the GOP agenda is to reduce Iowa taxes.

Governor Reynolds is demonstrating her usual follow-from-behind leadership on tax reform. In mid-December, she offered this non-position statement.

“It is impossible to come up with a tax reform plan until we see what is signed into law at the federal level,” said Brenna Smith, a spokeswoman for Gov. Kim Reynolds.

Republicans often like to compare running the government budget to running a household budget. For example, suppose an Iowa family has more essential expenses than income to balance their budget. Realistically, this family should consider increasing their income rather than cutting their family’s critical needs. To the contrary, Republicans’ suggestion to this family is to reduce their income, take a lower paying job or cut back their hours. That suggestion would harm their family just as cutting back state tax revenue would hurt all Iowa families’ basic needs. Cutting Iowa taxes at this time will further deepen Iowa’s budget disaster.

There is growing indications that 2018 could be a Democratic wave election. Iowa Republicans may believe that their control of the Governor’s office and the legislature might be in jeopardy. They may believe this is their last chance to go for an all-out radical tax change. The radical tax cutting suggestions by Zaun and Dix demonstrate that they are out of touch with economic reality.  Their proposals are dangerous, irresponsible and economically unsound.

by Rick Smith
Posted 1/4/18