Statewide Iowa — The Republican who’s leading development of a tax reduction plan in the Iowa Senate says the focus is on cutting income taxes.
Senator Dan Dawson of Council Bluffs says reducing property taxes is more complicated.
Dawson is chairman of the Iowa Senate’s Ways and Means Committee. The last major property tax reduction in Iowa was the 2013 law that reduced commercial property taxes by 10 percent.
The tax plan that took effect this summer gets rid of the property tax levy that has supported Iowa’s mental health system and the state is to cover all those costs in the future. Representative Lee Hein, a Republican from Monticello, is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Hein says Iowa should consider adopting a law, like one in Utah, that requires citizens be notified of the intent to raise property taxes and invited to a public hearing to voice concerns.
Representative Dave Jacoby is the top-ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee. He says the starting block on property tax reform should be relief for homeowners.
Jacoby is from Coralville. Senator Pam Jochum of Dubuque, the top Democrat on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, says the property tax system is perplexing.
The legislators made their comments during a forum sponsored by the Iowa Taxpayers Association. The 2022 Iowa Legislative session begins January 10th.
