Equitable tax reform is key for growth

To the editor:

The significant energy tax increase hidden in the Obama administration's 2016 budget would create a no-win situation for Iowa's business community and the families who depend on it. In a move that it describes as tax reform, the administration is pushing a punitive set of tax increases on America's domestic oil and natural gas producers. These are the same energy producers who kept the economy afloat with capital investments and job creation throughout the recent recession. The very same companies whose expanded production has freed America from our chronic dependence on imported energy. Specifically, proposals to remove the section 199 manufacturing deduction only for our natural gas and oil producers could be devastating. This unbalanced approach to tax reform places our domestic energy producers at a competitive disadvantage to their international competitors. This would drive up energy prices and threaten the supply of affordable oil and natural gas that's essential to Iowa businesses, from manufacturing to farming. Tax hikes like these can have a serious ripple effect throughout our economy.

Andrew Steahr

Iowa City