Lights. Camera. Action - but not too much action.

“If you build it, He will come.” The Iowa Legislature, in a bi-partisan fashion in 2007 and in 2009, passed film tax incentives to surpass what other states were offering to lure Hollywood into Iowa. Well, the film industry has arrived in Iowa - and it is big business for the state - bringing in film crews, movie stars and the best of Iowa jobs and opportunities. But wait…..like every good Hollywood movie, there is a plot twist ahead.

Dozens of film advocates and Iowans are now worried that a law change passed by Iowa Democrats capping the tax credits in the closing days of the 2009 session will effectively kill the tax breaks and this new Iowa industry.

Iowa Democrats are proud of their achievements and twittering away on how their insight brought economic development to Iowa. Well, that is nothing more than “Hollywood hype.” Congrats, to the promotions department. But, all the airbrushing and press releases can’t hide the fact that the Democrat’s compulsive spending habits have led to the dismantling of this field of dreams. So, they built it, they came, but the Democrat’s cancelled the game.

All the movie magic in the world can't cover this one up. Democrats are, yet again, trying to have it both ways. They need the economic dollars to balance out their flawed budget but don't want to give too many breaks/incentives. This is one tale that won't end well as Iowa's Hollywood dreams are quickly fading to black.


Click here to watch a video on an awesome opportunity Iowa has with the film industry, but thanks to the Democrats' tax caps, this could be the last pirate ship that sets sail here.

Wasteful Spending to Find Wasteful Spending

The Culver administration continues down the path of fiscal irresponsibility as it was revealed today that they are definitely dumping a firm from Minnesota that they paid $6.35 million to help find ways to cut government spending in Iowa. They're opting to pay a new firm roughly $300,000 to do the same thing. What a bargain! I'm sure that is what Culver and his advisors are thinking. Too bad the state has already spent four years and millions paying the Minnesota firm to find all these ineffeciencies. So what happened to all the suggestions they made and why can't the state simply use their recommendations? The contract was initiated by the Vilsack administration and Culver thinks he can now do better. Obviously, they also didn't like the suggestions. Hopefully, this new firm will offer some suggestions that are liked by someone in the Governor's office so spending this wasteful spending to find more wasteful spending is caught and nipped in the bud. Wishful thinking, we know.....

Republicans have been making cost-saving, budget-cutting suggestions to the Democrats for months, but it's fallen on deaf ears. The House Republicans even established a web site gathering ideas from Iowans on how to cut costs. Those suggestions were free. Free is good.

Debt and Jobs

The governor announced yesterday that the state would be receiving $100 million to repair roads and bridges. Iowa is getting this money thanks to the bonds that the state is selling. Remember: We've got a triple 'A' rating so lets sell 'em! This isn't free-and-clear money. It's debt that our children and grandchildren will have to pay back and I'm sure they won't be too happy about it once the are old enough to understand why their taxes are so high.

This money will be put towards the state's I-JOBS projects aimed at putting Iowans to work, but today, some people are questioning if that program will really help the state. One economist went so far as suggesting a better economic stimuls would be to lower taxes for businesses. We really like that idea and have some more like it but Democrats don't seem to want to listen. Guess they're enjoying spending your tax dollars and incurring debt too much to think about anything else.

There is still no clear answer as to how many jobs will be created from the I-JOBS program and whether those jobs will be quality jobs or temporary, minimum wage jobs. We're just hoping that those pesky pot holes will get filled before the snow falls.

Guest Column by Senator Randy Feenstra

Democrats $56 Million Tax Hike is Politics as Usual

The Democrats eliminated major tax deductions and exemptions for Iowa flood and tornado victims in the 2009 legislative session. They also did away with the teachers tax deduction, college tuition assistance tax deduction, and the business depreciation tax deduction. These deductions put over $56 million back into the State General Fund.

The elimination of these deductions were never communicated to Iowa citizens or their accountants. The Democrats eliminated these deductions that have been available for years. The Democrats made the tax increases retroactive to the 2008 tax filings that were due April 15th. Iowans had no idea this tax increase was going to occur when they filed their 2008 return. Now the Department of Revenue has thousands of wrong tax returns and they are demanding payback for this tax money.

Since this tax hike was done under a cloak of secrecy due to political posturing under the claim of “we never raised taxes,” the Democrats find themselves in quandary.

To fix the problem, all Iowans who took these deductions must file an amended tax return or, hope they’re not audited which could result in a 5% tax penalty plus interest. The Iowa Department of Revenue has up to three years to identify these deduction errors and interest accrues until the money is paid. This becomes an expensive violation for something taxpayers did in good faith.

After Iowa taxpayers caught this political scheme, Governor Culver stated on Wednesday July 8th, that he would look at “any and all options” to address this snafu. The Vice Chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, Sen. Matt McCoy, noted the issue got knotted up with other tax proposals and stalled during the 2009 session.

Lets be crystal clear, this was done with no regard to Iowa taxpayers. I spoke on the floor of the Senate three times demanding that these deductions be passed for the flood victims, teachers, and businesses. I offered amendments to make sure these deductions were restored but got voted down by the Democrats. Every Democrat Senator knew the ramifications of not communicating this tax increase but they decided to play the political game of “We don’t think Iowa citizens are smart enough to catch this tax increase.”

It’s very disappointing when the Democrats call for government transparency but do things that contradict this very thought. Frankly, it seams the Democrats no longer care about Iowans; rather, for them it’s about winning elections at all costs. This is truly a failure in good government.

Senator Feenstra resides in Hull and sits on the Ways and Means, Education, Rebuild Iowa, and Appropriations Committees. He is also ranking member of the State Government Committee.

Having it Both Ways

No surprise here, Governor Culver is asking the Iowa Department of Revenue to hold off on collecting tax refunds that were issued to flood victims. This comes after the realization that these victim's were taxed on the refunds thanks to Legislative Democrats and the Governor choosing not to couple the Iowa tax code with the federal tax code.

During the legislative session, Democrats had ample opportunity to couple the codes but they chose not to. Now, as the governor is publicly ramping up his re-election campaign, he wants to backtrack, safe face and not punish these flood victims. Too little too late if you ask us. With a $160 million revenue shortfall in the Iowa budget, Democrats need the taxes. We don't see this problem going away anytime soon.

Here's the TV story explaining the problem.