Des Moines, February 24, 2014 –On Tuesday evening, March 4, the Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of Godfrey v. State of Iowa, et al., beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Supreme Court Courtroom on the fourth floor of the Judicial Branch Building, 1111 East Court Avenue, Des Moines. The evening session is an opportunity for central Iowa residents, who may not be able to attend the court's regular morning and afternoon sessions, to watch the court conduct oral arguments.

Attorneys' briefs for the case and a guide to oral arguments are posted on the Iowa Judicial Branch website at:

http://www.iowacourts.gov/About_the_Courts/Supreme_Court/Evening_Oral_Arguments_Des_Moines/index.asp

Proceedings will be streamed live from the Iowa Judicial Branch web site at: http://www.iowacourts.gov/About_the_Courts/Supreme_Court/Oral_Argument_Videos/.

In this case, the Iowa Supreme Court will be asked if tort claims against state officials must be brought under the Iowa Tort Claims Act, Iowa Code chapter 669. The statute provides that if the actions of state employees that are the basis of the claim were within the scope of their employment, the employees have immunity and the State of Iowa will be substituted as defendant for the individual employees.

Plaintiff Christopher Godfrey is serving a statutory six-year term as Iowa's Workers' Compensation Commissioner. His term is due to expire April 30, 2015. He has sued the State of Iowa and several individuals, including Governor Terry Branstad and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds, on a variety of claims, including violation of his constitutional rights, defamation, and intentional interference with contract.

Under Iowa Code section 669.5, the Iowa attorney general certified that defendants' actions were within the scope of their employment with the state. Based on the attorney general's certification, the individual defendants asked the district court to substitute the State of Iowa as the sole defendant in the case. The district court concluded that chapter 669 mandated a finding that the attorney general's certification on scope of employment was conclusive, requiring the court to substitute the State of Iowa for individual defendants. Plaintiff Godfrey contends the district court was wrong to dismiss the individual defendants from the case.

On appeal of the district court's ruling, issues before the Iowa Supreme Court include :

I. Does the attorney general's certification pursuant to Iowa Code section 669.5(2)(a) conclusively establish that a state employee was acting within the scope of his or her employment (and therefore the action is deemed to be an action against the state and the state is substituted as the defendant in place of the employee) or is the attorney general's certification subject to the court's (or a jury's) independent review?

II. If the attorney general's certification does conclusively establish that a state employee was acting within the scope of employment, then does the application of section 669.5(2)(a) result in an unconstitutional deprivation of plaintiff's due process rights?

A public reception with the supreme court justices will follow the oral arguments.

For more information, visit http://www.iowacourts.gov/About_the_Courts/Supreme_Court/

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WASHINGTON - A bipartisan group of U.S. senators led by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) urged the top U.S. trade negotiator to negotiate a comprehensive and acceptable agreement with Japan that will increase market access for all agricultural products as part of the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership talks.

In a letter to United States Trade Representative Michael Froman sent on Friday to coincide with key talks over the weekend, the senators expressed concern that Japan has not yet made a comprehensive offer on agricultural talks that would increase access for U.S. agricultural products in Japan.  The senators said the lack of a comprehensive agreement would undermine the Administration's "goal of significantly increasing market access for U.S. agricultural products in TPP party countries."

In addition to Grassley and Bennet, the senators signing the letter are Mark Pryor, Joe Donnelly, Kay Hagan, Mark Udall, Pat Roberts, John Cornyn, James Inhofe, Mark Kirk, John Thune, Mike Johanns, John Boozman, Roy Blunt, Rob Portman, Deb Fischer, Richard Burr and Jerry Moran.

A signed copy of the letter is available here.  The text of the letter is available below:

Dear Ambassador Froman:

In previous trade negotiations, the United States requested and received full and comprehensive liberalization in the agricultural sector from both developed countries like Japan as well as developing countries. By requesting special treatment for its agricultural sector in the TPP, Japan may upset the careful balance of concessions that the eleven economies involved in the negotiations have achieved. If Japan continues to insist on protecting certain agricultural products, other countries with sensitivities in the agricultural sector may make similar demands.

As intended, the TPP will facilitate additional trade relationships with Asia-Pacific countries and set an important precedent for future trade agreements. Most immediately, a positive outcome with Japan on sensitive agricultural products will buoy the prospects for reaching an acceptable agreement with the EU in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations.

The market access package that the Administration negotiates with Japan has the potential to support billions of dollars in future exports and hundreds of thousands of jobs. For this reason, we seek assurances from you that the U.S. will not close the TPP negotiations without an acceptable comprehensive agreement with Japan to eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers in agriculture.

Sincerely,

-30-

After Matt Boyd briefly sparked Quad City comeback hopes with a point-blank power play goal at 3:43 of the second period, the Americans took control by scoring three straight goals over the course of a middle frame that saw Ruskowski assessed a game misconduct.  Brian McMillan's tip-in stretched the Alllen lead to 3-1 just 22 seconds after Boyd got the Mallards on the scoreboard.  Both teams were down a man when Ludwig snapped the puck in under the cross bar from the right wing circle at 7:46 of the second to widen the gap to 4-1 and bring about the replacement of Mallard goaltender Thomas Heemskerk by Ty Rimmer.  The Americans were on the power play when Ludwig made it 5-1 with a drive from the high slot at 12:14.  It was after this goal that Ruskowski was given his marching orders.

Schaafscma scored his second goal and the Americans' sixth on a breakaway just past the midway point of the third period.  Gergo Nagy provided a belated Mallard response from the doorstep at 14:06 of the third.

The Mallards next play at home Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. against the Mavericks.  That game is another Winning Wednesday presented by T.G.I. Friday's.  If the Mallards win next Wednesday, each fan in attendance will receive a free ticket to the Mallards' following Wednesday home game courtesy of T.G.I. Friday's.  After the game fans can join the Mallards at T.G.I. Friday's in Moline for a postgame party.

By Jason Alderman

Calculating income taxes is a royal pain, even when your situation is uncomplicated enough that you can file a 1040EZ Form. And if you're self-employed, be prepared for extra layers of complexity. Not only must you file an annual return with numerous additional forms and schedules, you're also responsible for paying quarterly estimated taxes, which can mean having to write a pretty hefty check while waiting for your clients to pay their overdue bills.

Add in that you're also responsible for funding your own health insurance and retirement and you may start to miss having an employer manage a portion of your financial affairs. (Although many people go into business for themselves precisely to call their own shots.)

Here are a few things to remember when calculating your 2013 taxes:

First, some potentially good news for taxpayers who claim a home office deduction: You now may choose between the traditional method of calculating the business use of your home (which involves numerous calculations, filling out the onerous IRS Form 8829 and maintaining back-up records for years) and a new simplified option.

Under the new, so-called "safe harbor" method, you can simply claim a standard deduction of $5 per square foot for the portion of your home used regularly and exclusively for business, up to a maximum of 300 square feet - a $1,500 limit.

Contrast that with the traditional method where you must calculate actual expenses of your home office expressed as a percentage of the square footage your home office consumes. For example, if your office takes up 12 percent of your house, you can deduct 12 percent of your electricity bill.

A few additional details:

• You can choose either method from year to year; however, once you've elected a method for a given tax year it's irrevocable.
• Under the safe-harbor method you cannot depreciate the portion of your home used for business in that particular year.
• With the new method you can still claim allowable mortgage interest, real estate taxes and insurance losses as itemized deductions on Schedule A. These deductions don't have to be allocated between personal and business use, as under the traditional method.

You'll need to weigh whether the recordkeeping hours you save justify the potentially smaller deduction - especially if you have a large home office or considerable deductions. Suggestion: Look at last year's deduction and compare what it would have been using the $5 per square foot calculation, factoring in time spent doing the math.

A few other self-employment tax-filing considerations:

• In addition to the home office deduction, you generally can deduct many other business-related expenses, including: legal and accounting fees; professional dues and subscriptions; business insurance and licenses; professional training and education; professional equipment and software; maintenance/repairs; and business-related mileage, travel and entertainment.
• You can also deduct the full cost of medical, dental, vision and long-term care insurance premiums for you, your spouse and dependents, even if you don't itemize deductions.
• For more details on business expenses and deductions, see IRS Publication 535 (www.irs.gov). Also visit the IRS' Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center.

Bottom line: Income taxes are often more complicated for self-employed people and good recordkeeping is essential. Unless you're an accounting whiz, consider hiring a tax professional or financial planner who specializes in self-employment issues. The penalties and fees they can help you avoid - and hidden deductions they can uncover - will probably more than pay for their fees.

Jason Alderman directs Visa's financial education programs. To participate in a free, online Financial Literacy and Education Summit on April 2, 2014, go to www.practicalmoneyskills.com/summit2014.