The Iowa House is considering a bill that would enshrine in the state constitution a single income tax rate for individuals.  It has already passed the Senate.

This constitutional amendment is unnecessary and could have major implications on enshrining an unfair regressive tax system onto the shoulders of everyday Iowans. 

A graduated income tax is the fairest tax since it can be set up to have the higher taxes applied to those with incomes that are most able to pay the taxes.  But the constitutional amendment would require individual income taxes to be imposed at one rate and not a graduated rate.

Future legislatures may want to make the income tax more fair for all tax payers in the form of a graduated income tax.  A constitutional amendment would make that much more difficult, since it is a lengthy process to change the constitution.  We need to be very careful with changes to the constitution. 

This constitutional amendment is not  needed.  It does not fix things that are broken.  It does not move our state forward.  Therefore, we encourage our legislators to oppose this bill.

Note: A constitutional amendment has to be passed by two consecutive legislative sessions (a legislation session lasts two years, starting the January following a general election) plus a vote at the next general election – a process that requires at least three years.

What you can do

1. Ask members of the Ways and Means subcommittee to vote no on SJR2004.  Their email addresses are: bobby.kaufmann@legis.iowa.gov , brooke.boden@legis.iowa.gov , david.jacoby@legis.iowa.gov , john.wills@legis.iowa.gov , elizabeth.wilson@legis.iowa.gov

2. Ask members of the Ways and Means committee to vote no on SJR2004.  Their email addresses are: bobby.kaufmann@legis.iowa.gov , barb.kniffmcculla@legis.iowa.gov , david.jacoby@legis.iowa.gov , brian.best@legis.iowa.gov , jane.bloomingdale@legis.iowa.gov ,  brooke.boden@legis.iowa.gov , ken.croken@legis.iowa.gov , dave.deyoe@legis.iowa.gov , john.forbes@legis.iowa.gov , eric.gjerde@legis.iowa.gov , austin.harris@legis.iowa.gov , charles.isenhart@legis.iowa.gov , craig.johnson@legis.iowa.gov , megan.jones@legis.iowa.gov , kenan.judge@legis.iowa.gov , monica.kurth@legis.iowa.gov , shannon.lundgren@legis.iowa.gov , amy.nielsen@legis.iowa.gov , anne.osmundson@legis.iowa.gov , mike.sexton@legis.iowa.gov , brent.siegrist@legis.iowa.gov , phil.thompson@legis.iowa.gov , john.wills@legis.iowa.gov , elizabeth.wilson@legis.iowa.gov , derek.wulf@legis.iowa.gov

3. Ask your state representative to oppose SJR2004.