Production and Abatement Distortions under Noisy Green Taxes, October 2005

Pigouvian taxes are typically imposed in situations where there is imperfect knowledge on the extent of damage caused by a producing firm. A regulator imposing imperfectly informed Pigouvian taxes may cause the firms that should (should not) produce to shut down (produce). In this paper we use a Bayesian information framework to identify optimal signal-conditioned taxes in the presence of such losses. The tax system involves reducing (increasing) taxes on firms identified as causing high (low) damage. Unfortunately, when an abatement decision has to be made, the tax system that minimizes production distortions also dampens the incentive to abate. In the absence of wrong-firm concerns, a regulator can solve the problem by not adjusting taxes for signal noise. When wrong-firm losses are a concern, the regulator has to trade off losses from distorted production incentives with losses from distorted abatement incentives. The most appropriate policy may involve a combination of instruments.

Iowa Tax Expenditures Report 2000

Exemptions, exclusions, credits against tax and reductions in tax base that are tied to specific provisions in tax law; estimation of the annual dollar effect for each of those provisions. Phase 1 Report including Corporate Income, Individual Income, Sales Tax Use Tax.

Research Activities Credit Annual Report for the Period July 1, 2009 – December 31, 2009

Annual report on individuals and companies that claim the Iowa Research Activities Tax Credit. The report includes the total amount of Regular Research Activities Tax Credit claims, the total amount of Supplemental Research Activities Tax Credit claims, the total amount of Research Activities Tax Credit claims paid as refunds, the amounts of Research Activities Tax Credits claimed against corporate income tax and against individual income tax, and the names of taxpayers and the amounts claimed for taxpayers that claimed in excess of $500,000 of Research Activities Tax Credits.

Road Safety Audit for IA 28 from the South Corporate Limits of Norwalk in Warren County through the IA 5 Interchange in Polk County, Iowa, November 2012

In response to local concerns, the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) requested a road safety audit (RSA) for the IA Highway 28 corridor through the City of Norwalk in Warren County, Iowa, from the south corporate limits of Norwalk through the IA 5 interchange in Polk County, Iowa. The audit included meeting with City staff to discuss concerns, review crash history and operational issues, observe the route under daylight and nighttime conditions, and analyze available data. This report outlines the findings and recommendations of the audit team for addressing the safety concerns and operational matters along this corridor.

Road Safety Audit for County Road X-37, from the Intersection of G-62 to the East Corporate Limits of Columbus City in Louisa County, Iowa, 2009

A road safety audit was conducted for a 7.75 mile section of County Road X-37 in Louisa County, Iowa. In 2006, the average annual daily traffic on this roadway was found to be 680 vehicles per day. Using crash data from 2001 to 2007, the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) has identified this roadway as being in the highest 5% of local rural roads in Iowa for single-vehicle runoff- road crashes. Considering these safety data, the Louisa County Engineer requested that a road safety audit be conducted to identify areas of safety concerns and recommend low-cost mitigation to address those concerns. Staff and officials from the Iowa DOT, Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau, Federal Highway Administration, Institute for Transportation, and local law enforcement and transportation agencies met to review crash data and discuss potential safety improvements to this segment of X-37. This report outlines the findings and recommendations of the road safety audit team to address the safety concerns on this X-37 corridor and explain several selected mitigation strategies.

Road Safety Audit for County Road H-46 from Redwood Avenue to the Southerly Corporate Limits of Fairfield in Jefferson County, Iowa, 2010

Jefferson County Road H-46 from Redwood Avenue to the southeast corporate limits (SCL) of Fairfield, Iowa, is a paved roadway approximately 6.5 miles long made of asphaltic concrete pavement with curvilinear alignment. The roadway consists of a 22 ft wide pavement, last overlaid in 2002, with 3 to 4 ft wide earth shoulders. Traffic estimates indicated volumes ranging from 500 to 1,590 vehicles per day, with numbers increasing as the route nears Fairfield. This roadway was found to be among the highest 5 percent of similar Iowa roadways in terms of severity of run-off-road crashes. In response, Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) requested a road safety audit to examine the roadway and suggest possible mitigation. Representatives from the Iowa DOT, Federal Highway Administration, Institute for Transportation, local law enforcement, and local government met to review crash data and discuss potential safety improvements to this segment H-46. This report outlines the findings and recommendations of the road safety audit team for addressing the safety concerns on this roadway.

Road Safety Audits for County Road X-23 from IA 2 to the South Corporate Limits of West Point and for County Road W-62 from US 218 to IA 27 in Lee County, Iowa, 2010

On October 20–21, 2009, two road safety audits were conducted in Lee County, Iowa: one for a 6 mile section of County Road X-23 from IA 2 to the south corporate limits of West Point and one for a 9.7 mile section of County Road W-62 from US 218 to IA 27. Both roads have high severe crash histories for the years of 2001 through 2008. Using these crash data, the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) has identified County Road X-23 as being in the top 5 percent of similar roads for run-off-road crashes. The Iowa DOT lists County Road W-62 as a high-risk rural road that has above-average crash numbers and is eligible for funding under the Federal High-Risk Rural Road Program. Considering these issues, the Lee County Engineer and Iowa DOT requested that road safety audits be conducted to address the safety concerns and to suggest possible mitigation strategies.

Road Safety Audit for James Avenue NW and 250th Street NW, from the North Corporate Limits of Tiffin to I-380, in Johnson County, Iowa, 2010

To address safety concerns on James Avenue NW and 250th Street NW, from the North Corporate Limits (NCL) of Tiffin, north and east to I-380 (at North Liberty), the Johnson County engineer requested a road safety audit (RSA). The audit was conducted on September 1, 2010, through a program supported by the Office of Traffic and Safety at the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT). This road is a seal-coated roadway, about 25-ft wide, but with only about 0-1 ft of earth shoulders. According to 2006 Iowa DOT estimates, traffic volume is about 820 vehicles per day, north from Tiffin to a commercial entrance on 250th Street, then increasing to 2,990 vehicles per day to the on-ramp of Interstate 380 (I-380). Local traffic uses this road as a short-cut to Cedar Rapids, North Liberty, and the I-380/I-80 interchange (to avoid congestion on IA 965). This report outlines the findings and recommendations of the road safety audit team for addressing the safety concerns on this roadway.