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Supporters of a proposed bill that would cut Iowa’s corporate income tax rates by as much as 37 percent thought the legislation had a decent chance of being passed during the 2010 legislative session.

One legislator said, “The whole purpose of this bill is … to stimulate businesses to employ more people.”

No, wait. All of that happened in Idaho. I always get Iowa and Idaho mixed up. Sometimes, when it gets really bad, I find myself pulling into a driveway in Boise, wondering what’s for dinner.

In this case, however, it doesn’t make much difference, because we’re about to have a similar debate. Right here in the Buckeye State.

Terry Branstad announced last week that if he is elected governor, he wants to reduce commercial property taxes to less than the Midwest average and cut corporate income tax rates in half as part of his plan to create 200,000 new jobs.

It’s not surprising, because tinkering with tax rates is one of the main things that American politicians do; that and hiking the Appalachian Trail. When you look at a chart of corporate income tax rates for the past several decades – come on, admit it; you take a peek whenever the boss isn’t around – you find that Congress spends part of almost every session sighing deeply and fixing the changes made by the previous session’s dart throwers.

In 1970, the federal government demanded 22.55 percent of the first $25,000 of income and 49.20 percent of the take over $25,000. From 1971-74, it was 22 percent and 48 percent. In 1975, the lawmakers broke it into three brackets. In 1979, they raised the bet by two more brackets.

It goes on like that, from 1909 to the present, but to list the entire history would be like watching paint dry while arm-wrestling a big accountant. The point is, changing the tax code is nearly irresistible. The question is, does it help?

I e-mailed David Swenson in Iowa State University’s economics department and asked him what he thought about Branstad’s idea. Spreading the tax burden more equally among businesses would make sense, he said – those that sell their products outside the state don’t contribute nearly as much to Iowa’s checking account as those that sell locally.

However, “I do not believe that cutting corporate rates in half will affect business location decisions on the margins at all,” Swenson wrote. “Taxes are way down the list of meaningful variables for firm location. And firms that are that tax-rate sensitive usually are low value and low wage firms; the kind that are just one step away from moving to Mexico.”

Iowa does have one of the lowest business formation rates in the nation, he noted. On the other hand, “Iowa also has one of the lowest business failure rates in the nation.”

Finally, Swenson wrote: “Branstad’s goal of 200,000 new jobs in Iowa will not be achieved through some magical tax policy change, nor, might I add, will it happen before he’s a very old man.”

It’s not surprising that Branstad, who so far is only slightly old, would single out the corporate income tax rate. Iowa is right in the middle on just about everything, but our top corporate tax rate is the nation’s highest at 12 percent. However, there are plenty of politicians in other states also fretting about the issue.

The president of the Minnesota Taxpayers Assocation, Todd Rapp, recently wrote: “Many of the Minnesota Legislature’s most-respected tax wonks – Democrats and Republicans – acknowledge that it is time to get rid of the corporate income tax.”

Out in Idaho, where they didn’t quite pass their tax-cut bill, Elwood Kleaver of the Boise Valley Economic Partnership said the major obstacle to luring companies to Idaho is the 7.6 percent corporate rate.

That’s an important comparison to our situation. Also, I wanted to work his name in somehow.