DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa is one of the top states when it comes to providing citizens easy access to information about government spending. Just five states — Indiana, Oregon, Florida, Texas and Massachusetts — were ranked higher than Iowa by U.S. Public Interest Research Group, which gave Iowa a
Read More →DES MOINES, Iowa — The Iowa State Auditor’s office has launched a second audit of Sixth Judicial District Department of Correctional Services, less than three months after its report detailing more than $775,000 in inappropriate spending by the department. “Since the previous audit, we have been contacted by people with
Read More →DES MOINES, Iowa—West Des Moines city officials have cued up $36 million in local and state tax incentives for a company, but won’t tell its citizens who that company is. “I shouldn’t say anything,” West Des Moines Mayor Steven Gaer told Iowa Watchdog. “The company has asked us not to.”
Read More →DES MOINES, Iowa — Decorum flew out of the Iowa Legislature on Tuesday when political games led state Sen. Randy Feenstra, R-Hull, to describe as “bullshit” a bill before a Senate subcomittee. SSB 3207 would restrict the amount of state investment tax credits a fertilizer plant being built in Lee
Read More →DES MOINES, Iowa— For six years, the state has collected more than $20 million for a tax that didn’t exist. When questioned about it, the Legislature adopted the solution preferred by small children who’ve done something wrong — they pretended it never happened. In 2008, the Legislature passed a bill
Read More →DES MOINES, Iowa — As the deadline to pay income taxes approaches, it’s important to remember that government does more than just take your money — it also uses your money to let others skip paying taxes. The Iowa Economic Development Authority announced Friday it had approved almost $1.7 million in
Read More →DES MOINES, Iowa— A federal law designed to help Iowa kids slim down is making lunchroom garbage cans heavier with government-mandated fruits and vegetables. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 set new nutrition standards for school meals, including requiring each student be served half a cup of fruit or
Read More →DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa has a new strategy for preventing welfare recipients from using their electronic benefit transfer cards in liquor stores, casinos and strip clubs — sending a letter to the welfare recipients telling them not to do it. The strategy actually is an improvement over what the state had
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Posted March 24, 2014in Iowa Watchdog
DES MOINES, Iowa — According to reports from the Iowa Department of Revenue, an obscure tax break, the Research Activities Credit, has allowed major corporations to receive millions in tax refunds from the state without paying a dime in state corporate income tax. Exactly how much Iowa has paid to
Read More →DES MOINES, Iowa — Running into a combination of bureaucratic inertia, big-money special interest influence and ignorant state legislators is enough to make anyone want a stiff drink. Iowa’s micro-distillers must be sorely tempted to grab a bottle off their production lines as they push for minor changes in the
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