The Iowa legislature may convene in Des Moines soon — to consider tax incentives that could lead to construction of a new steel plant along the Mississippi River, in southeast Iowa. Republican legislative leaders have not provided confirmation, but the House Minority Leader has sent an email to the 33 Democrats in the Iowa House, saying a company is asking the governor and legislative leaders to consider a special session to pass an incentive package soon. The company is not named in the email. The Des Moines Register has reported some property owners about five miles from the Mississippi River in Lee County said they’ve been contacted about selling their land and they told the paper they believe a steel plant may be built there.
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.
