Tell your legislators: No more income-tax cuts

Proposals for big cuts to the personal income tax, which generates nearly half the state budget, are making their way through the Legislature. Slashing the income tax will demand painful — and unpopular — cuts to services that help Iowans thrive: everything from local public schools and mental and maternal health care to state parks and trails. They are also a giveaway to the richest Iowans that will force working Iowans to shoulder more of the burden for our shared responsibilities. 

Email your representative and senator TODAY and tell them to oppose plans to slash the income tax

Lawmakers’ emails follow the following format: firstname.lastname@legis.iowa.gov. Find your lawmaker and their email address here.

Here's some language to get started: 

"Dear Representative/Senator [last name],

"My name is [your name] and I live in [your city]. I'm a constituent. I’m writing to ask you to oppose income-tax cuts that will blow a hole in the state budget and rig the system against working Iowans.. ..."

Arguments you can choose from as you write:

• I want Iowa to be a state where the schools are great, we know our nursing homes will offer quality care, and no child goes to bed hungry. We should be prioritizing those things — not tax cuts that mostly benefit the wealthy.

• I'm willing to pay my fair share. Growing up in Iowa, I had opportunities to succeed, and I want the same opportunities for [my children, my grandchildren, the children in my community]: accessible child care, good schools and affordable college. If we keep cutting taxes, we can’t possibly have those things.

• Cutting the income tax will do little for my family — but it will cause budget cuts that hurt my kids’ schools, make it harder for us to get health care, and put college further out of reach. That’s a bad deal.

• It’s not right to give big breaks to rich Iowans who don’t need it and make working people like me shoulder more of the burden for our shared responsibilities.

• The rich people in our state will be OK without more tax breaks. I’m worried about whether our local school stays open, our hospital can keep serving patients, and our community has clean water to drink.

• I don’t believe we can make big tax cuts and maintain — much less improve — the services Iowans need and want, like schools, health care and state parks. It defies basic math. You can’t get something for nothing.

• I’m asking you to take responsibility for Iowa’s long-term health. The tax cuts the Legislature passed two years ago aren’t even fully phased in yet, and our state has many needs. This is not the time for more tax cuts.

Remember, if you can tailor your comments to be specific to your community, do so — lawmakers are generally most interested in how a bill will impact their own district.

Thank you for taking action to protect Iowa's future. 

Learn more

Major tax bills in 2024

Top-line messages: Why income-tax cuts are wrong for Iowa

Slides from March 19 tax-cut legislation briefing

Recording from March 19 briefing: