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Iowa state government started its new fiscal year yesterday in the black.
State tax collections for fiscal 2019, which ended Sunday, came in about $99 million above the growth estimate and up about $521 million over the previous year. Iowa is one of the few states where residents can deduct their federal income tax liabilities from their state income taxes. That current feature of the Iowa tax code, called federal deductibility, means that when federal tax rates fall — as they did beginning in February 2018 — Iowa taxpayers were able to deduct less from their state bill.
Iowa Democrat Theresa Greenfield has raised more than $625,000 for her campaign against Republican Sen. Joni Ernst in less than a month since launching her bid.
Greenfield, a Des Moines-area businesswoman who touts her rural roots as the daughter of a farmer, announced her campaign for Senate on June 3. Her campaign emphasized its grassroots support in its first fundraising report, touting that 85% of her contributions were $100 or less and that she's received contributions from 96 of Iowa's 99 counties.
Greenfield is one of three Democrats competing to take on Ernst. She has received endorsements from national and local Democratic groups.
A handful of surveys have shown Ernst enjoying a positive approval rating from Iowans, but she remains a top target for national Democrats.
