Gazette Daily News Briefing, September 23 and 24

Welcome to the weekend!

This is Stephen Colbert from the Gazette Digital News Desk, and I’m here with your update for Saturday, September 23rd, and Sunday, September 24th, 2023.

According to the National Weather Service, Saturday will be mostly sunny, with a high near 82 with a 10 percent chance of showers after 5pm. Saturday night will have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1am. Chance of precipitation is 70% and the low will be 61.

Sunday, showers are likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 1pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm with a high near 70. Sunday night will be Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59.

Iowa lowers top corporate income tax rate

Iowa's top corporate income tax rates will fall for the second year in a row to 7.1 percent.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a tax law in 2022 that included a trigger to decrease corporate tax rates if revenue exceeded $700 million. Taxes in fiscal year 2023 were $838 million, according to the Iowa Department of Revenue.

Based on the 2022 law's formula, corporate tax rates will fall to 7.1 percent in the highest two brackets. The tax rate for those brackets was 8.4 percent last year.

For businesses that bring in up to $100,000, the tax rate will remain at 5.5 percent, which is intended to be the flat tax rate for all businesses by 2028.

The same 2022 law included individual income tax cuts, gradually phasing Iowa's tax rate at a flat 3.9 percent by tax year 2026. Iowa's revenue is expected to drop by $1.89 billion once the tax cuts take full effect.

Lost solar project exposes obstacles to luring big business to Iowa

A large solar energy manufacturer at one point was looking to build in Iowa but chose Louisiana instead, in part because Iowa could not offer the same public incentives, according to the state’s economic development chief.

Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority and Iowa Finance Authority, told The Gazette that Iowa lost out on the opportunity to attract the manufacturer that was looking to build in Waterloo. The state “would have won” but “didn’t have enough incentives” to keep the company from looking to Louisiana.

Durham did not provide details of the proposed project or the name of the company. An authority spokeswoman said she could not share more information, and that communications with and about business prospects are confidential.

A bill proposed by the Iowa Economic Development Authority to provide a package of state tax incentives to try to lure a major business development to Iowa stalled in the Iowa House on the final day of the 2023 legislative session.

University of Iowa wants $50M from state to improve rural health care

Taking a cue from last year’s Legislature, which tied its full Board of Regents funding increase to specific campus initiatives, Iowa’s public universities for the upcoming session have made significant “special purpose” funding requests — on top of their ask for $14.8 million more in “general” appropriations.

In total, the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and University of Northern Iowa are seeking $23.5 million more for “special” projects and initiatives in the 2025 budget year that starts July 1. And UI’s $10 million portion of that ask will only start what the campus envisions as a five-year, $50 million “rural Iowa health care partnership.”

When combined with the regents’ request for $14.8 million more in “general” appropriations, the board’s full ask amounts to a $38.3 million bump over this year — for total education appropriations of $599 million in fiscal 2025. The board last year wanted a total increase of $34.7 million — with the vast majority sought in the form of general dollars the universities could use broadly toward their campus missions and operations.

But lawmakers gave them no general funding increase and instead tied all $7.1 million in new regent appropriations to specific initiatives: $2.8 million to UI’s College of Nursing; $2.8 million to Iowa State’s Future Ready Workforce Program; and $1.5 million to UNI’s Educators for Iowa Program.

Have a good weekend, everyone.