Des Moines, Iowa — The amount of tax paid to the State of Iowa continued to grow over the past six months, fueled in part from state sales taxes on electronic commerce — like online shopping and streaming services like Netflix.
Jeff Robinson, a senior fiscal analyst for the Legislative Services Agency, says net tax payments to the state last month were up more than five percent over the previous December.
(as said) “A $27 million increase in corporate income tax deposits and a $19 million decrease in overall tax refunds issued provided much of the month’s net revenue boost,” Robinson says.
Over the past six months, total state tax revenue increased 117 million dollars — and 44 percent of that was due to an increase in sales tax collections. The rest of the increase came mainly from an increase in corporate income taxes.
(as said) “Growth in net individual income tax revenue for the fiscal year has been just $16 million or 0.9%,” Robinson says.
The State of Iowa began taxing internet purchases on January 1st of 2019. Federal reports indicate online sales accounted for 14 percent of all retail activity in the third quarter and early estimates indicate online shopping skyrocketed during November and December.
