Des Moines, Iowa (RI) — Key Republican lawmakers have developed a plan they say would be the biggest property tax overhaul since 1977. Representative Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Senator Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs, is chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
The plan would erase a series of property tax credits the state finances. Dawson says the state could then increase funding to schools and lower the amount of taxes property owners pay to their local school district.
Veterans would get property tax break as well. The bill ultimately would control how much revenue local governments get from property taxes by setting a two percent cap on property tax valuations of residential, commercial and industrial property. Kaufmann says additions and new construction would make a property subject to a bigger increase.
The bill also ends the so-called “roll back” that connects property tax values throughout the state. Critics say it has given Iowa’s growing cities an advantage, while penalizing property owners in small towns. Dawson and Kaufmann say it will be at least two weeks before legislators schedule public meetings on this plan to give Iowans a chance to review it.
