Iowa State Sen. Zach Wahls: Iowa needs a fair tax plan

Iowans are hardworking people who take pride in our work. But fewer Iowans are working today than when Gov. Kim Reynolds took office. Because Republicans are driving workers out of our state and are unable to keep Iowans in the workforce, we don’t have enough workers to keep schools, hospitals, and small businesses open.

Recently, Democratic legislators unveiled our Fair Tax Plan that rewards work, not wealth. Democrats want to support Iowa workers, who are the backbone of our economy, with lower costs and tax cuts, while Republicans want to support the rich and corporations who continue to get richer while working Iowans get left behind.

Iowa Republicans such as Reynolds, Sen. Jack Whitver, Sen. Jake Chapman and others are doubling down on the policies that created the workforce crisis, like more tax cuts for millionaires and corporations, distracting Iowans in an attempt to divide voters, and underfunding schools, job training, public safety, child care, and preschool.

We need a tax code that supports Iowa families. It’s time we invest in our communities and make Iowa a better place for all of us, not just the wealthy few. That’s why our plan includes:

• Boosting basic funding for Iowa’s public schools by $300 million. That’s a better investment in the state’s future than the Republican plan for another $300 million giveaway to corporations.

• Give middle class Iowans a tax cut, not millionaires and billionaires.

• Invest our state surplus into expanding apprenticeships, career training and technical education to help solve the Reynolds Workforce Crisis.

• Get more parents back into the workforce by making safe, reliable child care affordable throughout Iowa and guaranteeing access to free, universal Pre-K programs.

• Renew Iowa’s investment in public safety funding and reform to help keep Iowans safe.

We are calling for a new direction to solve the Reynolds workforce crisis. Let’s make Iowa a place where folks want to live, work, and raise a family.

Iowa Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls is a Democrat from Coralville.

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