Shall the following amendment to the Iowa Constitution be adopted? Provides that any bill to increase the individual income tax rate or the corporate income tax rate, or the rate of any other type of tax based upon income or legal and special reserves, shall require the affirmative votes of at least two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the general assembly for passage. Further, the two-thirds majority vote requirement applies to the passage of a bill to establish a new tax on any type of income or legal and special reserves imposed by the state. The requirement excludes taxes imposed at the option of a local government. A lawsuit challenging the proper enactment of a bill must be filed no later than one year following the enactment.
Does this sound like it will save you tax money? Well maybe if you are wealthy. This amendment makes it almost impossible to increase income taxes, which are the most progressive of all taxes. The more you have, the greater your share of the tax burden. The state is facing a budget shortfall in the billions and, unless the state goes bankrupt or ceases crucial services, something has to give. If it falls to sales taxes or property taxes to fill the gap, the people with the least pay the biggest share.
