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WORST. PROPOSAL. EVER.

January 14, 2004

OK, we're biased. We're accountants ourselves. Still, this seems very wrong:

"The governor proposed:

* "Updating the sales tax system to pay for education. This includes making more services subject to Iowa's 5 percent sales tax, including engineering, surveying, accounting and consulting. Vilsack, an attorney, said the proposal would create an estimated $131 million for schools next year alone. The governor's aides said attorney fees are not included in services that would be taxed." (Emphasis added)

We accountants are naturally opposed to any price increase for our services, at least those we don't get to keep; still it does seem unjust to make clients pay sales tax when they buy services from us, but not when they buy the same services (you know - wills, contracts, divorces, etc - JUST KIDDING, GUYS!) from lawyers. Maybe this is part of "Grow Iowa Values," and we just value attorneys highly.

Or maybe there's a darker explanation. Think about it: Governor Vilsack, the state's ranking Democrat, is an attorney; who is Iowa's highest-ranking Republican state official?

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