Rep. Dean Fisher (R-Montour)

Week three of the session is done and things are moving along rapidly. However, this past week has been a slow one for me personally. I came down with symptoms of Covid over the weekend, tested positive and had to spend five days in quarantine at home. Symptoms were mild, but I followed the doctor’s advice which also follows CDC guidelines. Of course, I keep up as best I can via email, phone and the legislature’s website, and I look forward to returning to the capitol next Monday.

The big news as the session continues is the various tax plans proposed by the governor, House, and Senate. Iowa House Republicans want a tax plan that is simple, responsible and cuts taxes for all Iowans. Iowa’s economy is hampered by the high number of job openings, by one estimate well over 85,000, especially in jobs such as plumbing, carpentry, welding, nursing, and many other skilled trades. We have passed many pieces of legislation and funding schemes to help fill this shortage over the last several years, including the Future Ready Iowa program, Last Dollar Scholarship, increased funding for Community Colleges, and more. These programs are helping, but we must do more to make Iowa attractive to attract people from other states to seek jobs here and retain the workers we have. Towards that end we are working on tax cuts that will help boost Iowa as a destination for working folks. Also, the Biden Economy is hurting Iowa families and we need to deliver relief now. Iowa House Republicans released our own tax plan on Thursday that closely resembles the Governor’s tax cut plan. Our plan is similar to the Governor’s plan by lowering taxes for all Iowans so everyone pays a flat tax rate of 4%. By flattening and lowering our personal income tax rates we can bring Iowa closer in line with other states that have low or no income tax and attract more working folks.

A big part of our tax plan is making all retirement income in Iowa tax free. This piece is in the Iowa House’s tax plan, the Senate Republicans’ tax plan and the Governor’s tax plan. Our tax plan also makes retirement income exempt, including creating a new income exemption option for retired farmers. It’s not fair to exempt retirement income for previously employed persons and leave our retired farmers out of the benefit. This part of the plan should also help retain Iowans that have retired, making it attractive to stay here in Iowa instead of moving to other states for lower income taxes. We see many Iowans move or change their primary residence to states like Florida, Texas or even Illinois that do not tax retirement income. If we can keep those folks in Iowa once they retire, that means they continue to contribute to the economy here in Iowa and to not-for-profits and to their local community.

Notably, the House tax reduction plan does not include a tax cut for corporations, keeping the focus on individual Iowans who need relief most right now. As I mentioned above, our economy is restrained by the lack of workers, we have well over a hundred thousand jobs already created and waiting to be filled, so our focus will be on making Iowa more attractive financially for working folks. Filling those jobs with workers will in turn create more jobs as well. The House bill also includes an outline on how to use the Taxpayer Relief Fund to offset the tax cut and keep the budget balanced. Our tax plan will not raise taxes for any Iowan.

As always, I look forward to hearing from you and visiting with you by phone, email, or in person at the capitol or in the district.

Rep. Dean Fisher (R-Montour) is serving his fifth term as a member of the Iowa House of Representatives. First elected in 2012, Fisher serves District 72 which includes Tama County and portions of Marshall and Black Hawk Counties. Fisher is currently the Chair of the House Environmental Protection Committee and is also a member of the House Commerce Committee, Natural Resources Committee and Public Safety Committee. He can be reached by office phone at 515-281-3221 or by email at dean.fisher@legis.iowa.gov.