Des Moines, Iowa — Governor Kim Reynolds is presenting her fellow Republicans in the legislature with a wide-ranging tax plan that she describes as a compromise.
Her plan has the support of Senate Republicans, but Republicans in the Iowa House are unveiling their own plan. The governor’s plan would speed up income tax cuts and get rid of the state inheritance tax. Those are both moves that all Republicans in the legislature now support. However, cutting property taxes by 100 million dollars by having the state take over the mental health system has the support of just senate Republicans and the governor.
House Speaker Pat Grassley says House Republicans are interested in cutting property taxes, but Grassley says they’re not convinced all the questions about how the state would manage the mental health system have been fully answered.
The state’s mental health system is managed on a regional basis and, since county property taxes are used to finance the system, county officials are in charge. Iowa is currently the only state that uses property taxes to pay for mental health services.
