(Radio Iowa) Governor Kim Reynolds has said her goal is to get rid of the state income tax by the end of her current term — which would be December of 2026. A bill that cleared an Iowa Senate committee last spring suggested elimination of the state income tax could be accomplished in the next decade. Republican Senator Dan Dawson of Council Bluffs is chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

“The Senate Republican goal has always been to eliminate the income tax in a responsible and thoughtful manner,” Dawson says. “and that is the pathway that we are going down this next session.” Dawson says he’s looking forward to seeing the tax plan Governor Reynolds is set to unveil in January. Under current law, the state’s personal income tax will become a flat three-point-nine percent by 2026 — but Republican leaders say the state is still taking in far more tax dollars than needed to run the government.

Senate Democratic Leader Pam Jochum says the focus of tax cutting should be on helping working families and elderly Iowans.  “Not on the wealthy and the big corporations who have quite frankly benefited from this series of tax cuts we’ve seen in recent years,” Jochum says.

Jochum and Dawson made their comments at a forum sponsored by the Iowa Taxpayers Association. The 2024 Iowa legislative session begins Monday, January 8th.