By Dan Russo
The Catholic Messenger
DES MOINES — The Iowa Catholic Conference (ICC) is encouraging the electorate to vote no on a ballot question that would amend the state constitution to make it more challenging for lawmakers to raise two types of taxes.
With early voting in progress and Election Day coming Nov. 3, the ICC, which is the public policy agency of Iowa’s Catholic bishops, expressed its opposition to constitutional Amendment 1 on social media and in other communications outlets.
The proposed amendment passed in the legislature in 2024 and 2026 before being put before voters in this year’s general election.
“I think tax policy is very important for people to pay attention to,” said Tom Chapman, ICC’s executive director. “There are other states that have such amendments. Certainly from our perspective, we’ve opposed it for several years.”
The amendment, if approved, would require a two-thirds majority in both the Iowa House and Senate to raise personal income and corporate income taxes.
“In other words, (Amendment 1) would give a minority of lawmakers the ability to stop any increases in those taxes,” the ICC explained in its Oct. 26 newsletter. “Other taxes could be raised by simple majority vote of the legislature and a signature from the governor.”
“Obviously, nobody likes tax increases,” reads the recent statement. “However, the ICC has opposed the proposal, arguing that Catholic teaching supports a more progressive form of taxation. If the amendment passes and the state later needs more revenue to maintain current services, legislators may be more likely to raise the sales tax. This would require lower-income people to spend a larger percentage of their income on that tax.”
According to a 2025 summary from the National Conference of State Legislators, 13 U.S. states now require a supermajority in their legislatures to raise all taxes and three require this for only some types of taxes.
Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation is among the groups leading a campaign in support of the measure, arguing it would encourage “greater spending discipline,” among other benefits, according to a statement on the organization’s website. Opponents counter that the amendment would have a negative effect on the most vulnerable.
In 2003, Iowans were considering a similar constitutional amendment. At that point, the ICC released a Statement on Taxation, which addressed church teaching on the issue in greater detail and also included a list of suggestions on tax policy.
“The principle of contributive justice, as explained in the US Bishops’ pastoral letter, ‘Economic Justice for All’ (1986), suggests that all members of a society have a responsibility to contribute to the common good,” reads the 2003 statement, in part. “A just and equitable system of taxation ensures that everyone contributes to society according to his or her ability to pay. Through contributions collected by taxes, we share the blessings that God has given us so that these resources can be used for the good of all. The principle of distributive justice, also described in the economics’ pastoral letter, suggests that the distribution of wealth among the members of a society should first address the basic material needs of all people. As explained in the pastoral letter, the goal of distributive justice is to obtain a just and equitable distribution of income, wealth and power. This goal should be evaluated in light of how this allocation affects the poor and most vulnerable in a society.”
The latest ICC newsletter and the full 2003 Statement on Taxation is at https://iowacatholicconference.org and https://iowacatholicconference.org/taxation-2003/
The ICC created a flyer on faithful citizenship for the 2026 election, available on its website, which includes a reflection on Catholics’ role in politics, questions to ask candidates and other resources.
Text of Amendment 1
Editor’s Note: The full text of the proposed amendment (Amendment 1) is:
“Passage of a bill that increases the individual income tax rate or the corporate income tax rate, or the rate of any other type of tax based upon income or legal and special reserves, shall require the affirmative votes of at least two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the general assembly. This requirement does not apply to taxes imposed at the option of a local government. Passage of a bill that establishes a new tax on any type of income or legal and special reserves imposed by the state shall require the affirmative votes of at least two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the general assembly.”
“A lawsuit challenging the proper enactment of a bill under this section must be filed no later than one year following the enactment. If such a lawsuit is not filed within the one-year limit, the bill shall be considered properly enacted under this section.”
“Each bill to which this section applies must include a separate provision describing the requirements for enactment prescribed by this section. The general assembly shall enact laws to implement this section.”
