“We’re not going to do something that puts the state in a position where we have an entire mismatch there,” Upmeyer said. “We’re not going to do that. But we are going to look for opportunities and, if for any reason the federal activity generates a windfall or an increase in resources here for Iowa, I think much of that is dollars that weren’t paid in taxes, we expect them to be able to keep it so we’re not just going to haul it in.”

That struck a chord with John Stineman, executive director of the Iowa Chamber Alliance, which wants to see the Legislature address the “sticker shock” associated with Iowa’s top individual and corporate income tax rates — but not at the price of fiscal responsibility that fosters quality of life and other elements also important to business development.

“We want to make sure that whatever we bite off is something we’re actually able to swallow,” said Stineman. “All that being said, we want to see lower rates, lower advertised rates in particular, and we want to see a move toward simplicity.”

Mike Owen, executive director of the Iowa Policy Project, said Iowa has a regressive tax system that slants in favor of wealthy Iowans who pay a lower percentage of their income in state and local taxes than do the bottom 80 percent of the taxpaying population.