Comments on: An Update on Federal Deductibility http://www.iowahouserepublicans.com/an-update-on-federal-deductibility Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:58:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Paul http://www.iowahouserepublicans.com/an-update-on-federal-deductibility/comment-page-1#comment-22 Paul Sat, 18 Apr 2009 14:26:26 +0000 http://iowahouserepublicans.com/?p=3070#comment-22 Once again, I completed my tax returns and cursed their complexity. After working through the federal return, I'm faced with a state return that seems to be designed to add to my frustration. How about a state tax form with three steps: 1) copy your federal AGI, 2) count your dependents, 3) look up your tax in a table? Ending federal deductibility is a small step in the right direction. It simplifies my return. I'm for it if it is generally revenue neutral. (It also gets rid of this weird result that the IIT revenues go up/down when the FIT rates go down/up. Why would we want to cede control of our budget to the whims of DC like that?) It may make the Iowa income tax a little more "progressive". I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing (I've been an above average earner, so it may cost me a little), but I'm sure simplicity is better. It seems to me that both the Democrats and the Republicans are more concerned about stroking their own egos by playing political games with the tax code than they are in creating a simple, understandable way to raise revenue to pay for gov't. In the case of federal deductibility, the Democrats seem to be doing less damage. Once again, I completed my tax returns and cursed their complexity. After working through the federal return, I’m faced with a state return that seems to be designed to add to my frustration.

How about a state tax form with three steps: 1) copy your federal AGI, 2) count your dependents, 3) look up your tax in a table?

Ending federal deductibility is a small step in the right direction. It simplifies my return. I’m for it if it is generally revenue neutral.

(It also gets rid of this weird result that the IIT revenues go up/down when the FIT rates go down/up. Why would we want to cede control of our budget to the whims of DC like that?)

It may make the Iowa income tax a little more “progressive”. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing (I’ve been an above average earner, so it may cost me a little), but I’m sure simplicity is better.

It seems to me that both the Democrats and the Republicans are more concerned about stroking their own egos by playing political games with the tax code than they are in creating a simple, understandable way to raise revenue to pay for gov’t. In the case of federal deductibility, the Democrats seem to be doing less damage.

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