Double Secret Tax Credits Revealed

So the Iowa Department of Revenue put out a report this week showing which companies got state Research Activities Tax Credits. That was classified info, folks, until lawmakers passed a reporting requirement last year at 3 a.m. on the session's final night.

Who says they never do anything good after dark?

So now, every Feb. 15, we find out which firms get more than $500,000 in state help for top secret research. And because a lot of the recipients get more in credits than they owe in taxes, they get a big fat check.

We sink $40 million or so into this credit ever year.

And the top recipients are:

Vermeer Manufacturing -- $1,352,069

Hon Industries, Inc -- $892,396

Interstate Power and Light Company -- $576,438

CNH America LLC -- $708,338

Syngenta Seeds, Inc -- $503,748

Total -- $4,032,989

Of course, lots of companies rushed to apply before July 1, 2009, so they didn't have to report publicly. Evidently, this big number next to the name of their company will give their competitors incredibly valuable information on what they're up to.

Don't ask why. You are no expert on secret research. You are only the poor taxpayer who pays for it.

And if some lawmakers get their way, you won't see a security breach like this ever again:

On the heels of Monday's release, two Democratic senators spoke about why they have introduced a bill that would again keep the information secret.

"The fear is that companies and startups can be at a competitive disadvantage from releasing that data," said Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, who has introduced Senate File 2164 with Sen. Swati Dandekar, D-Marion.

My own senator. Well I'll be.

Here's a compromise - you can keep it all nice and secret, but the credits are no longer refundable. Tax relief, fine. Big fat checks with no taxpayer disclosure, not fine.

Research is valuable. But so is the right of taxpayers in a democracy to know how their money is being handed out.

Here's the report. It will self-destruct in 10 seconds.

Research Activities Credit Annual Report