The Iowa legislature may soon convene in Des Moines to consider tax breaks that might seal the deal for a new steel plant near the Missisippi River in southeast Iowa. As Radio Iowa’s O. Kay Henderson reports, it’s not the first time lawmakers have taken steps to try to attract a steel plant to Iowa.
“Back in 1994, officials at the state and local level came up with a 75-MILLION dollar package to lure Canadian-based IPSCO (IHPS-coh) Steel to build a plant near Muscatine. It included state sales tax exemptions for construction materials, a 10 percent investment tax credit, and a property tax exemption for the machinery and equipment inside the plant. The state Research Activities tax credit for IPSCO was doubled and the state provided nearly two MILLION dollars for access roads and job training, plus a one million dollar loan. The IPSCO plant near Muscatine opened in 1997 and recycles scrap metal. The plant has been under Swedish ownership since 2007.”
