items tagged with Taxes

Every Republican governor this state has had in the past 40 years has raised taxes.

Republican legislators and most of their leaders have always been involved with those tax hikes.

So it's probably not fair that nobody bats an eye when every Republican candidate for governor -- announced and unannounced -- is allowed by the media to get away with saying that taxes shouldn't be raised to balance the state's horribly deficit-ridden budget.

Hundreds of opponents and supporters of the Iowa Supreme Court's Varnum v. Brien decision legalizing same-sex marriage descended Thursday on the Iowa Capitol and watched as House Speaker Pat Murphy declined twice to call up a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman.

"Let us vote! Let us vote! Let us vote!" supporters of the Iowa Marriage Amendment shouted after the first attempt to bring the issue to the House floor was ruled out of order.

Advocates on both sides of the issue watched at about 9:30 a.m. as House Minority Leader Kraig Paulsen made an attempt to bring House Joint Resolution 6 to the House floor.

The River Cities' Reader asked Iowa state legislators from Scott County to answer two questions related to the national popular vote and the deductibility of federal income-tax payments. The deadline to respond was five days after the questions were sent out. All four Republicans responded. Of the five Democrats, only Representative Elesha Gayman responded.

Read More About Scott County Legislators On National Popular Vote, Income-Tax Deductibility...

If you paid attention to the Davenport Promise proposal, the arguments in favor of a 1-percent sales tax for school construction in Rock Island County will sound familiar: This is the way we can be competitive with surrounding areas; this is the way to attract and retain residents; this is what we need for the future workforce.

There are three key differences, however: The Rock Island County proposal - which is on the April 7 ballot - is easy to explain and grasp; the vote will be held in a Democratic and union stronghold; and it involves a new tax, rather than shifting an existing one.

The first two factors should work in favor of the referendum, and it will almost certainly get more support than the Promise, which only garnered 39 percent of the vote on March 3.

But the sour economy hasn't put voters in a giving mood. The Illinois General Assembly in 2007 allowed counties to seek a sales-tax increase for school construction; eight of 10 referenda have failed.

The leaders of the Rock Island County Kids First organization - the primary force pushing for the sales-tax increase - said they are concerned about the Promise results, but they also highlighted the differences.