Republicans use tax filing day to talk about cuts

Iowa Republican leaders sought to use the attention surrounding Monday’s tax filing deadline to push for President Bush’s $1.6 trillion tax cut package.

“The president’s proposal is good for all of Iowa’s families,” said Rep. Greg Ganske, a Republican who is giving up his seat in the U.S. House to challenge Sen. Tom Harkin.

State Auditor Richard Johnson, who is giving up his job to run for the GOP nomination for Ganske’s 4th District seat, said the tax cut is precisely what’s need to spark a state economy that’s showing signs of weakness.

He said 194,000 small business owners in Iowa would benefit from the tax cuts, and they would likely reinvest the money back into the state’s economy.

“Money saved means reinvesting in the state’s economy to promote growth and new jobs,” Johnson said.

Ganske, who voted for the plan in the U.S. House, rejected suggestions that Bush’s plan would benefit mainly the wealthy.

“One in five taxpaying families with children will no longer pay any income tax at all, completely removing 6 million American families from the tax rolls,” Ganske said.

Johnson and Ganske used a Statehouse news conference to make their point, but that appearance was only one in a series of efforts to grab a slice of the heavy media attention given to the deadline for mailing off federal tax returns.

Iowa Citizens for a Sound Economy, a conservative anti-tax group, was holding rallies at post offices in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Davenport to make the case for a tax cut.

“This time of year when people are writing checks to the federal government, they understand just how much money goes into government coffers,” said Jason Gross, the group’s Iowa director.

Ganske said he hopes to use the tax cut issue as a central one in his campaign battle with Harkin. He accused Harkin of “working vigorously to deny Iowa families necessary tax relief.”

Harkin said he favors tax cuts more heavily weighted toward working families.

While midnight Monday was the deadline for mailing off federal taxes, state tax returns are not due until the end of the month.

On the Net: Internal Revenue Service: http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/