The Iowa Fiscal Partnership is a joint initiative of two nonpartisan organizations, the Iowa Policy Project and the Child and Family Policy Center, providing reliable information and analysis on Iowa budget and tax issues.

Learn about us and find out how to donate to our work for all Iowans.

 Spending on autopilot — this is the legacy of Iowa’s reckless treatment of what are known as “tax expenditures.” The clearest example is the state’s “Research Activities Credit,” which is a tax credit that in most cases is not used to reduce taxes, but to provide big subsidies to big companies outside the budget process. In 2013, 140 companies picked up $36 million in checks this way — without paying a dime of state income tax. Other taxpayers paid the bill.

Read this report