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Candidate for Iowa Governor Cathy Glasson calls on Kim Reynolds to end “out of control” tax incentives to Rockwell Collins

GLASSON

CEDAR RAPIDS — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Cathy Glasson sharpened her call for major reforms in Iowa’s Research Tax Credit today in wake of the news that Rockwell Collins will move its executive offices out of Iowa after collecting $14 million in subsidies from Iowa taxpayers last year alone. Rockwell Collins had revenues of $5.26 billion but paid nothing in Iowa income taxes in 2017.

“I’m sick and tired of it,” said Cathy Glasson. “It’s time to make big corporations in this state finally pay their fair share. Rockwell Collins is just the latest example of the corporate rip-offs and the rigged economy in this state. Thousands of minimum wage earners who work 40 hours a week are living in poverty while multi-billion dollar companies are collecting millions in corporate welfare from Iowa taxpayers every year. Working people have had enough.”

Rockwell Collins is one of 29 companies that paid no income taxes in 2017 but were still given gifts from Iowa taxpayers of $66 million in research tax credits last year alone. Since 2009, Department of Revenue Data shows these 29 companies collected $375.4 million in research tax credits. 80% of these corporate credits were given to companies that paid no state income tax.

Kim Reynolds

“It’s really pretty simple,” Glasson said. “Regular Iowans shouldn’t have to keep footing the bill for Kim Reynolds’ corporate backers. It’s time to get the billionaires, the CEOs and the big corporations to pay their fair share in Iowa. They need to know that their days of controlling our state government are coming to an end.”

Glasson pointed out that the corporate tax credits given to Rockwell Collins in 2017 alone would have nearly been enough to save the two state mental health clinics closed by former Governor Terry Branstad in Mt. Pleasant and Clarinda. Branstad and his successor Kim Reynolds decided to cut the budget of $15.7 million for those mental health facilities while writing a check for $14 million last year to Rockwell Collins.

“It’s outrageous,” Glasson commented. “Rockwell Collins is laughing all the way to the bank. This company gets a big check from the State of Iowa while paying nothing in income taxes. Iowa kids and Iowa patients are the ones who are really paying the price with cuts to our schools and mental health facilities shutting down.”

Glasson challenged Governor Kim Reynolds to step up and act. “It takes a leader to admit when you’ve made a huge mistake,” Glasson commented. “They’ve squandered away nearly a billion dollars and now they’re trying to cut critical services to the bone. It’s time for them to be honest: Iowa’s Research Tax Credit is out of control and irresponsible.

“As Iowa’s next Governor, I’ll direct my staff to conduct a thorough line by line review of every corporate tax credit being issued, “ Glasson concluded. “I’ll fight to freeze credits to profitable companies who are not paying state income taxes, paying all employees and contractors at least $15 and not giving workers the opportunity to join a union or employee association. It’s time to end the corporate welfare.”

Cathy Glasson, 59, is the President of SEIU Local 199 representing thousands of nurses, health care workers and school support employees across Iowa. She is a registered nurse who worked in the intensive care unit at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics where she led the effort to unionize her fellow nurses 18 years ago. She lives in Coralville, Iowa with her husband Matt, a labor educator.

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