(Radio Iowa) - State tax revenue is projected to drop by more than 11-and-a-half percent over a 24-month period -- a decline the governor's budget chief says was expected due to recently-approved tax cuts.
Kraig Paulsen, director of the Iowa Department of Management, says there is enough available revenue to fulfill the spending promises outlined in the current fiscal year's budget. Governor Reynolds says she and her fellow Republicans in the legislature believe the government has been taking in too much taxpayer money and they've fixed that by cutting taxes.
Democrats in the legislature say these new estimates show the state will be taking in a billion dollars less in taxes. Democrats say that means more tax cuts for corporations and wealthy Iowans, while more money will be siphoned away from public schools to support the state program for private schools.