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Rep.
Van Fossen Named Chair of
Internet
Tax Subcommittee
The
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the nation’s
largest nonprofit, bipartisan membership organization of state
legislators, held its Spring Task Force Summit in Chicago from
April 20-22, 2001.
ALEC has more than 2,400 legislative members nationwide.
Of those 2,400, nearly 300 legislators were invited to join
the Task Force in Chicago.
The
Task Force Summit offers ALEC members the opportunity to share
experiences, learn about issues at the state, national and
international levels, as well as to craft meaningful reforms.
Such issues that are addressed include e-commerce taxation,
drug price controls, environmental health, energy restructuring,
civil justice reform, and school performance.
ALEC’s
nine National Task Forces serve as public policy laboratories
where legislators develop model policies to use across the
country. Task Forces also commission research, public issue
papers, convene workshops and issue briefings, and serve as
clearinghouses of information on free market policies in the
states.
Unique
to ALEC Task Forces is their public-private partnership, a
synergistic alliance that identifies issues and then responds with
commonsense, results-oriented policies. Legislators welcome their
private sector counterparts to the table as equals, working in
unison to solve the challenges facing the nation
The
Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force, with over 100 public and private
sector members, promotes comprehensive tax reform and mechanisms
to restrain government spending in the states.
Rep.
Van Fossen, who serves as chair of the Internet Subcommittee (a
part of the Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force), introduced the
Electronic Commerce and New Economy Data Collection Act.
This act is the result of growing concern from many state
officials, due to the continued growth of untaxed, out-of-state
sales over the Internet. The act would give legislators accurate
and empirical data with respect to e-commerce.
The subcommittee plans to approve the Electronic Commerce
and New Economy Data Collection Act at the annual ALEC meeting in
New York City this coming summer.
State
Income Taxes Due April 30
This
Monday, April 30, marks the deadline for the filing of Iowa income
tax returns.
If you haven’t figured your own taxes yet, there’s no
need to worry!
Simply
log-on to the Iowa Department of Revenues website at www.state.ia.us/tax/.
Once at the site, users are able to access a variety of
different tools, such as
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instructions
and necessary tax forms. There’s
even the option for some to Webfile their short forms.
Once
all your state taxes are filed, you can call 1.800.572.3944 (Iowa
only) or 515.281.4966, to receive your income tax refund status.
All that is needed to obtain your refund information is your
Social Security Number, the tax year, and the exact refund amount.
House
Committee Approves
Property
Tax Limits
The
House Ways and Means Committee approved Senate File 514 on a near
party line vote Thursday. Representative
Geri Huser (D-Altoona) and Dick Taylor (D-Cedar Rapids) were the
only Democrats to vote for the bill.
Representative Clarence Hoffman (R-Charter Oak) was the lone
Republican to vote against the bill.
SF
514 now moves to the full House of Representatives for its
consideration.
Legislature
Approves Renewable Fuel Initiative
The Iowa
Legislature has approved the Renewable Fuel Initiative.
The House approved House File 716 on a 69-27 vote Tuesday.
The Senate followed suit Thursday, approving the measure
38-10.
This
ethanol-fuels retail incentive would provide a 2.5 cent per gallon
income tax credit for each gallon sold over a base of 60% of all
gasoline sales at any particular retail establishment.
The program would be voluntary.
The
legislation now goes to Governor Tom Vilsack for his consideration.
Iowa
To Celebrate Tax Freedom
Day
On April 27, 2001
Washington,
D.C. – America can celebrate Tax Freedom Day® on May 3, 2001,
according to the Tax Foundation's annual calculation. This means the
nation’s taxpayers have to work from January 1, 2001, to the 123rd
day of the year before earning enough money to pay for
government–federal, state and local–and start spending money on
themselves.
The
tax burden borne by different states varies considerably, not only
because residents of different states face different state and local
taxes, but also because they pay dissimilar federal taxes. The Tax
Foundation ranks the states by how many days their residents must
work until they have earned enough to pay their federal, state and
local tax bills.
The
state of Iowa marks today, April 27, 2001, as Iowa‘s Tax Freedom
Day. For
more info, click
here.
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