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Ways
and Means Considers Iowa Growth Initiative
The
House and Senate Ways and Means committees are working together to
make Iowa more competitive among its neighboring states.
Each piece of the developing plan is an important and
necessary step in helping Iowa to prosper.
This growth initiative will contain the following
individual bills, which will be considered separately:
1.
Interstate Distribution Center Initiative—Provides
that a company is not subject to Iowa income tax if the only
business conducted in the sate is the storage of items for ninety
days or less.
2.
Small Business Growth Initiative (Subchapter
S)—Allows for 100% of the federal income tax to be deducted when
determining the tax on a shareholder’s distribution (currently,
only 50% is deducted).
3.
New Economy Employment Initiative (stock
options)—Provides a deduction for 50% of the capital gain from
the sale of capital stock of a corporation acquired by the
taxpayer on account of employment with the corporation or acquired
while employed by the corporation.
4.
Community Renewal Initiative—Establishes tax
incentives to businesses that make contributions to projects in
communities or neighborhoods (i.e., physical revitalization, job
training, crime prevention, etc.).
*This initiative also includes an income tax credit for
companies providing in-house day care.
5.
Renewable Fuel Initiative (ethanol)—Proposed
ethanol-fuels retail incentive would provide to individuals and
businesses an income tax credit of 2.5 cents per gallon, on
ethanol-blended fuel, if those individuals or businesses dispense
60% of the fuel that they vend as designated fuel.
This program would be voluntary.
Update
on Teacher Compensation Plan
After
numerous Iowans voiced their concern with HF 672, the new Teacher
Compensation Plan, a bi-partisan working group of House and Senate
members have began revisions.
The
current plan proposes that career path and team-based variable pay
programs for teachers be geared toward rewarding teachers for
meeting both student and teaching goals. Teachers will
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move
up their career paths as they are evaluated on the increase of their
abilities in relation to the Iowa Teaching Standards.
Among these standards are content knowledge, planning and
preparation for instruction, the monitoring of student learning,
classroom management, and the teacher’s own of professional
responsibilities
The
team-based variable pay program will reward teachers for increased
student achievements, based upon valid and reliable assessments of
locally set goals.
House
File 672 plan attempts to achieve a funding balance between schools
with enrollments of 300 up to 10,000 students.
This is done by distributing 50%of the funding based upon
enrollment, and 50% based on the number of teachers employed by a
district. Schools are to use the 50/50 funds to meet the newly
established minimums, while using the remainder for the rest of the
salary schedule. funds
for the Beginning Teacher Mentoring Program are allocated based on
teacher participation in the program. House Republicans believe that
it is the responsibility of the state to see that properly prepared
teachers are in the classroom setting.
The
goal of House Republicans is to provide Iowa’s teachers with a
more progressive salary schedule. HF 672 attempts to improve teacher
salaries so that not only beginning teachers receive a higher salary
base, but so that teachers across the entire pay and seniority scale
receive a salary increase.
Another
concern in establishing a new statewide pay structure is how to
maintain local control. Teachers will be evaluated on criteria
established by the local school district which are based on teaching
standards developed by the state. In the variable pay program, House
Republicans are negotiating achievement standards that strike a
balance between local goals within a statewide framework.
Ways
& Means Update
Bills
passed out of the Ways and Means Committee this week:
HSB
131
A study bill relating to sales and use taxes on the delivery
of electricity and natural gas.
Passed
HSB
164 A study bill exempting property owned and operated by an
Indian housing property tax and including an effective date.
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