(DES MOINES) October 10, 2017: In response to today’s Administrative Rules Review Committee meeting addressing a proposal by the Secretary of State to increase fees on business services in order to modernize the computer system in the department, the following statement may be attributed to National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Iowa State Director, Matt Everson:
The small business community certainly has concerns with this proposal. Taxes on government services and mandatory filing fees for businesses cannot be used as a stream of revenue each time the public sector is stumped on how to fund a new project. In order for NFIB to support today’s measure, key changes must be incorporated that will protect small business owners in Iowa from future cost-to-do-business increases.
First and foremost, we urge the Secretary of State to reevaluate the proposed fee increases to ensure that that they are necessary and reasonably apportioned. We expect the Secretary to charge no more than what is required to cover the costs incurred in providing these services. Once that is complete, since the proposed fee increases are intended to fund specific projects benefiting small businesses through 2022, we expect that the fees will only be implemented on a temporary basis and return to existing levels in 2023.
