Statewide Iowa (RI) — State Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat running for governor, says when it comes to property taxes, he supports taxing out-of-state property owners at a higher rate than Iowa residents.
Sand’s proposal for a two-tiered property tax system for Iowans and for out-of-staters would apply to all classes of property — residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural.
The latest Iowa State University survey on farmland ownership — done back in 2022 — found that about half of Iowa farmland is owned by someone who doesn’t farm. Nearly a quarter of the land sold that year was purchased as an investment.
Sand made his comments during the taping of the “Iowa Press” program that aired Friday night on Iowa PBS. Two of the top 10 individuals or companies that own Iowa farmland are based out of state. The Utah-based trust for the Mormon Church owns at least 22-thousand acres of Iowa farmland, according to property records reviewed by The Cedar Rapids Gazette. A South Dakota egg company and a property management company based in Delaware each own well over 10-thousand acres of Iowa ag land.
KIWA Staff Photo
