Capitol Letters: Department of Revenue re-org

State Rep. Megan Jones

It's that time of the year, when I get a lot of questions about the Department of Revenue- and every year the are making strides at improving the processes.

Just last week the Iowa Department of Revenue announced it is in the final year of major efforts to enhance and improve the overall efficiency department technology.

These efforts include a range of modernized initiatives and customer-centered solutions designed to better serve the people, local governments, and businesses of Iowa and to streamline tax and licensing-related processes.

This November the Iowa Department of Revenue will go live with new capabilities in the integrated tax and licensing system and customer facing portal, GovConnectIowa. These updates will provide new benefits to lottery retailers and to alcohol retailers, brewers, distillers, brokers, shippers, carriers and manufacturers.

New capabilities and efforts include:

• Integrating various alcohol and lottery licenses and permits into GovConnectIowa, simplifying the management process for all stakeholders
• Making it easier for owners and third parties to manage their authority levels via GovConnectIowa, offering a more efficient, user-friendly experience
• Electronic filing options for all beer, wine and alcohol-related reports, providing a more convenient, streamlined process for compliance
• Law Enforcement Portal will integrate alcohol education and compliance initiatives, supporting law enforcement and improving regulatory oversight
• Enhancing the GovConnectIowa Licensing Portal to facilitate alcohol license reviews and reporting, ensuring a smoother process for managing these tasks
• Developing a public database that allows users to easily search for alcohol and lottery licenses and permits, promoting transparency and accessibility

More details and updates will be provided as it gets closer to going live in November.

The last Storm Lake Legislative Forum of the 2025 session is Saturday, April 12, at 10 a.m. at King’s Pointe Resort.