Taxes on the Ballot

Don’t Fall for It!

by Doug Smith

October 28, 2026

On your Iowa ballot this November, you will see Constitutional Amendment #1.  It’s a law that would require a two-thirds vote in both houses of the Iowa Legislature to raise the state income tax rate on individuals or corporations, rather than a simple majority vote.  The organization “Iowans for Tax Relief” is organizing a big media push to get this passed. 

Nobody likes taxes, so this will pass easily, right?  Not so fast. 

“Raising taxes should require a greater degree of legislative consensus” say supporters.  Well, CUTTING tax rates should have had a greater degree of legislative consensus too, but Democrats weren’t consulted before Republicans lowered the tax rates, which gave their wealthy donors a big tax break.  They just wanted to drive the rate as low as they could (currently a flat rate on all income of 3.8%) and then close the door on any changes.  So, when Democrats are once again in the leadership in Des Moines, the Republicans can still hamstring any attempt to balance the budget by requiring wealthy Iowans to pony up a higher percentage.  It’s called “minority rule”, because it would only take 17 Senators or 34 Representatives to defy the will of the majority. 

They know there’s a very good chance Democrats are going to win the governorship and maybe one side of the Legislature, so this is a way to throw a monkey wrench into efforts to bring our massive, $1 billion state budget deficit (which Republicans created) back into balance.  If you can’t raise taxes to balance the budget, what will happen?  More service cuts to citizens.  Lower K-12 and university funding, more cuts to Medicaid, less food assistance, more cuts to mental health funding, and so it goes.  Does that work for you? 

If you vote “no” on this, NOBODY is going to raise the taxes of the average working person!  All we need to do is go back to our graduated income tax rates, like we had for years until 2025.  That means, as income goes up beyond a certain level, the tax on the additional income goes up as well. 

Who’s funding the “Iowans for Tax Relief”?  The richest people and the biggest corporations in the state!  No wonder they want this to pass!  They will try to fool you into thinking this is all about YOUR taxes.  It’s not… it’s about THEIR taxes.  No matter how much they have, they want to pay the same tax rate as us regular folks.  Is that the way things should be?  Or should those with greater wealth (not to mention growing their wealth with OUR labor) contribute to the financial stability of our state at a higher rate? 

Say “NO” to the wealthy insiders who want to take even more for themselves!  You can foil their plans by defeating this proposed amendment.  Keep majority rule in place here in Iowa. 

Learn more about Democratic candidates for all local elections here:  https://sites.google.com/blackhawkdemocrats.com/black-hawk-county-democrats-ca/home 

Find your sample ballot here:  https://blackhawkcountyelections.iowa.gov/search/ 

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