Iowa Governor Reynolds made some bold tax proposals in her State of the State address. In addition to a flat tax of 4% on all taxable income, she has proposed that retirement income such as pensions, IRAs, and 401ks be exempt from income tax. She also proposes to exempt cash rent payments received by farmers who are retired.
Social Security income is already exempt in Iowa even though many retired Iowans have higher than average wealth and income. Also, the average farmer is significantly more wealthy than the average Iowan. Farmers also have social security and can have IRAs and/or other retirement income just like everyone else. For some farmers, their cash rent received during retirement could exceed $100,000 per year, just like non-farmer wealthy retired people can have high incomes. There is no good reason why everyone’s retirement income should be tax-exempt.
If any group should have part of their income be exempt from tax, it is those Iowans who have the lowest incomes. It would be better to increase the standard exemption for everyone than to exempt retirement income. That way, the tax relief would go to those who need it most, regardless of age.