(Radio Iowa) – A U-S House committee hosted a hearing at the Iowa State Fair today (Friday) to tout Trump-era tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of 2025. Steve Sukup, president and C-E-O of Sukup Manufacturing in Sheffield, says the tax reform law of 2017 was a shot in the arm to the manufacturing sector. “Thanks to lowering the corporate tax rate to 21%, Sukup grew our workforce by a third,” Sukup said, “adding 200 well-paying manufacturing jobs in our community.” Sukup also urged congress to address a tax policy which had allowed 100 percent of equipment purchases to be claimed in the year they’re made.

“Unfortunately, full expensing began to expire in 2023. We believe that was a mistake. It is common sense that our tax code should encourage investment that leads to growth,” Sukup says. “Many manufacturing teams, including our company, would benefit from seeing this provision restored and congress should do it immediately.” Iowa Corn Growers Association president Jolene Riessen, of Ida Grove, says being able to claim that expense in a single year is a big deal when buying farm equipment, since a new combine costs 750-thousand dollars.

“Being able to use that 100% depreciation now it just freed up money so I can make those payments,” Riessen said. “You know, people have 20 to 30 years to pay off a house. Nope, I’ve got to pay off in three to five years.” Riessen and Lana Pol, of Pella, who owns four businesses, urged federal lawmakers to address inheritance taxes, too. “While I agree with others that this tax should be eliminated entirely, if congress does not at least act to preserve the expanded exemption of the estate tax, it will be increasingly harder to pass if from generation to generation,” she said.

The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee convened a field hearing at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 16, 2024. (RI photo)

The standard deduction and child tax credit doubled in 2017 and are set to return to previous levels at the end of 2025. Sarah Curry, of Glenwood, is the mother of three boys and most of the services for her youngest, who has been diagnosed with autism, are not covered by insurance. She says the increased child tax credit and standard deduction for each child has made a difference. “I mean, every dollar that my husband and I earn that we get to keep goes to our children,” Curry says. “…Reducing it by any amount would negatively impact my family, our children and our ability to pay for services.”

Curry, who is the research director for Iowans for Tax Relief, says if she and her husband pay more in federal taxes, they’ll likely pay more in state income taxes. That’s because federal taxable income is the starting point for calculating how much is owed in state income taxes. Congressman Randy Feenstra is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, that panel that held today’s (Friday’s) hearing about the Trump-era tax cuts.  “But if all these things go away, it will have a dramatic effect, for our families, for our businesses, for our Main Streets,” Feenstra said, “…and so many other things.”

The three other Iowa Republicans who serve in the U-S House also attended the hearing.