After graduating from Simpson College with a major in criminal justice and political science, Edward Wallace headed to Vermont to work at a camp for juvenile delinquents. About a year later, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked for the Senate Finance Committee chaired by Sen. Charles Grassley. His future wife and another job opportunity led him back to Des Moines, and in 2005, he decided to take a position in the private sector. Now, after working in public, private and non-profit ventures, Wallace has begun to work closely with the state government as president of the Iowa Taxpayers Association. One of his first initiatives is to help reform Iowa’s commercial property tax system.

How did you end up working on tax issues?

I had some experience in college being active in local politics and I wanted to have an experience in Washington, D.C. Sen. Grassley hired me to answer phones in the Senate Finance Committee. One thing led to another and the next thing you know I was working on tax issues. This was in the wake of [the] Enron [Corp. scandal], so we did a lot of wrap-up with Enron, a lot of corporate-owned life insurance. We worked a lot on tax cuts proposed by the president.

What attracted you to D.C.?

I became a C-SPAN junkie and wanted the opportunity to work on a congressional staff. The people you meet and connections you make are very instrumental in career development.

Why did you decide to work at the camp for juvenile delinquents?

I wanted to do something different. A lot of people thought, “I’m going to law school;” others were going to high-paying jobs at one of the best companies in downtown Des Moines. I wanted a non-traditional first job. I wanted to give something back.

What brought you back to Iowa?

My wife. I actually met my wife at a bar/restaurant in Crystal City, [Va.,] which is right by the Pentagon, watching an Iowa Hawkeye football game on television. She was an Iowa grad. So we got to talking and had a very quick courtship. We got engaged and decided to move back. I also had the opportunity to work for U.S. Attorney Matt Whitaker. We met in Washington when he was going through his Senate confirmation process to become a U.S. attorney. I followed him back to Iowa to help him. When my term appointment ended in 2005, I decided to make a private-sector move to Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. I worked in the office of compliance. It was eye-opening experience because I had no private-sector experience. I was there two years before this position.

What attracted you to ITA?

The ability to promote business tax policy that’s good for Iowa. I wanted to advocate non-partisan, sound fiscal policy.

What initiatives would you like to see the Iowa Legislature address this session?

One thing is corporate combined reporting. ITA is very much against that because of the compliance and litigation issues surrounding it. If you have a subsidiary in Iowa, a corporation would have to put a tax return form together [for the entire company] instead of [each subsidiary filing separately]. It could cost hundreds of thousands if not millions more for companies in Iowa. It makes the business climate in Iowa unattractive to a potential company coming in, especially many larger employers. The other issue is commercial property taxation. We’re monitoring that very closely. Gov. Culver has made that a top priority, and right now a working group in the Legislature is looking at that issue. We’re promoting fairness and equity, general terms. We don’t want any class to be overly burdened, residential, commercial or industrial. It’s important to us for commercial property owners to have fairness compared to others. The way that our tax code is put together in Iowa, it was put together 30 years ago during a budget crunch. Really long-term solutions are what are necessary and we’re very much looking forward to working with Gov. Culver and the Legislature on long-term solutions.

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

Spending time with my wife, Jennifer, and 5-month-old Jack. We like to go to Hawkeye games. I also enjoy reading and spending time in the summer boating and fishing in Minnesota.

What’s the worst part of your job?

Don’t know yet, but I’ll tell you in December. Our annual meeting is in December.