GOP county chair advocates for Amendment 1

Editor:
I'm asking every voter in Fort Madison, Keokuk, and across Lee County to vote YES on Amendment 1.
Currently, raising the state income tax or creating a new state income tax requires a simple majority (50% plus 1) in both the Iowa House and Senate. Amendment 1 would require a two-thirds supermajority (66.7%) in both the Iowa House and Senate to raise the state's individual or corporate income tax or to create a new income tax. That's it. It doesn't raise a dime of tax on its own. It simply makes it harder for a future Legislature to quietly reach into your pocket.
Here in Lee County, we know what a dollar is worth. Families in our river towns have watched prices climb while they stretched every paycheck. Republicans in Des Moines have responded by cutting income taxes again and again, driving Iowa's top rate down to a flat 3.8% and letting workers keep more of what they earn.
But tax cuts passed by one Legislature can be undone by the next. A simple majority today can become a tax hike tomorrow. Amendment 1 puts a guardrail in the Iowa Constitution so that raising income taxes takes a broad, deliberate consensus — not a narrow, partisan whim.
Fifteen other states already require a supermajority to raise income taxes, and they aren't suffering for it. Closer to home, the amendment doesn't touch local option sales taxes or property taxes, so our cities and schools keep their flexibility.
The Democrats warn of budget cuts and other scare tactics. But what they are actually afraid of is not being able to dream up superfluous new programs and easily reach into your pocket to fund them with your tax dollars. But if we're worried about the additional tax burdens falling on both our hardworking and retired Iowans, the answer is to make it harder to raise taxes — not easier.
Early voting has already begun, and Election Day is November 3. When you fill out your ballot, flip it over, find Amendment 1, and vote YES. Let's protect Iowa taxpayers, now and for the next generation.

James D. Creen
Lee County Republican Party Chairman