Election 2012: Landon Says Property Tax Relief is the Best Way to Improve Iowa's Economy

Ankeny voters will head to the polls on Nov. 6 to decide who will represent them in several local races.

One of those races will determine who will serve a portion of Ankeny residents as the Iowa House District 37 representative.

Today, Ankeny Patch is reacquainting you with John Landon, who is running against John Boehm, who was nominated by petition.

You might remember Landon from our coverage of the June primary. Landon came in third by popular vote, but was later chosen as the Republican party's candidate at a special nominating convention.

JOHN LANDON

Address: 525 N.E. Stone Valley Drive

Employer: Partner of Peoples Company

Number of years lived in the district: 18

Summary of education: BS-Ag Business-Iowa State University 1975

Family: Wife, Marvis, and two adult children, Eric (married to Rebecca) and Morgan

Website: www.JohnLandon.net

What should be the top priority of the next Legislature?

The top priority of the Legislature for this upcoming session relates to economic issues.  The single most important issue is property tax reform.

What is the most effective way the Legislature can improve Iowa's economy?

The most effective way for the Legislature to improve Iowa's economy is to reduce the state budget so property tax relief can be achieved without raising taxes somewhere else.  In conjunction, lowering the regulatory burden on Iowa's business's will provide the incentive they need to expand their businesses and hire more Iowans.

What is the most important way the Legislature can improve Iowa's schools?

The best way for the Legislature to improve Iowa's schools would be to fully fund any allowable growth.  In years past, the Legislature has not done this and forced Iowa school districts to cause property taxes to increase and create uncertainty to their budgeting process.

What do you see as the state government's role, what should it do for taxpayers and what should it stay out of?

Iowa government’s main function is to:

• Ensure public safety
• Provide an impartial justice system
• Provide the framework for fair and legal commerce to take place (including an adequate public road system)
• Manage the state universities and junior colleges.

The State should limit their involvement in all other areas. The more public education that the state has over-taken, the poorer the results have been. Education now takes up 65 percent of the state budget. The state should work to return control to the local school boards and allow true schools of choice for open enrollment. 

What were the top 3 successes of the most recent legislative session? 

1) Iowa will spend 99 percent or less of ongoing revenue this year and next.  Spending less than we take in seems like common sense, but has rarely happened in recent years. Having an end-of-year positive balance of $300 million is a step in the right direction.

2) The Legislature avoided passing an inadequate and temporary fix to the long-term problem of Iowa’s high commercial property tax rate. My highest priority in the legislature will be reducing the property tax burden. Iowans should not be penalized for owning property. Commercial rates should be lowered to match the residential and agricultural land rates. A shift in property taxes from one class of property to another is not acceptable. Job growth and business expansion is tied directly to this important issue.

3) The legislature reformed our mental health system in 2012. This was an issue that had not been addressed for several decades and the resulting reform was a rare example of both parties working together.

What were the 3 biggest failures?

1) Not passing true tax reform. In the next eight years property taxes are scheduled to go up nearly $2 billion. Next session will be critical for Iowa taxpayers and I am prepared to fight every day until results are delivered.

2) Maintaining the status-quo on education while our schools continue to underperform. I am concerned with the performance of Iowa’s schools since the mid-1990s and the amount of money the taxpayers pay for this underwhelming performance. It is clear that positive changes need to be made and the legislature failed to make them.

3) Another session came and went without a vote on same sex marriage. It is inconceivable that, in a representative democracy, this issue has not come to the floor for a vote in the Senate. This is an example of the elected representatives not listening to Iowans.    

How can the state restructure property taxes without shifting the burden to homeowners?

This is a great question, and the answer is simple. Until spending drops, Iowans will not experience true tax-relief. To varying degrees, the three tax reform plans on the table during the last two legislative sessions have attempted to lower tax rates by merely moving money around. 

I think it is important for Iowans to know that we can do better than this. Only 10 years ago our entire state budget was $4.375 billion, last year this number rose to just under $6 billion, a staggering increase of almost 35 percent. This increase came during a decade of nearly zero population growth in Iowa. This is a burden Iowans cannot afford. I would support a cap on residential property taxes.

Iowa has driven up property taxes by passing unfunded mandates on to our schools and municipal governments. This form of hidden taxation must end and doing just that will be one of my priorities in the legislature.  

As mentioned earlier, education is 65 percent of the budget. It is a common business practice to focus on cost effectiveness in the largest area of expenditure. The state should work to return control to the local school boards who, as we’ve seen over the past two decades, are more efficient at delivering cost effective, quality education. 

Go to my website to read more about these issues. 

Is the current tax structure hurting the state's economy?

Yes it is. When the state ranks second highest in the nation in both urban and rural commercial property tax rates, ranks in the bottom 10 in nearly every business tax climate index and has the top corporate tax rate in the nation, the tax structure is creating an unneeded burden on the state’s economy. Without business growth there can be no job growth. No society has ever taxed itself into prosperity.

In addition to this, over-regulation also harms the economy and discourages potential growth. During my 38 years of business experience I have dealt with these regulations firsthand, and I have solutions to make them more sensible and less onerous. One of the proposals I will bring to the legislature is a “sunset provision” to provide periodic reviews of our many rules and regulations. With an eye towards eliminating those that are outdated or not working as intended, we can slow the growth and cost of state government.

Should the next legislature take up the issue of same sex marriage? What would you propose?

Yes, the next session of the Iowa Legislature should vote on this issue. In my opinion, it should have happened immediately following the Varnum decision. 

Should the remaining Iowa Supreme Court justices who ruled in favor of allowing same sex marriage be removed from the bench? Why or why not?

I am a strong supporter of Iowa’s system of judicial retention elections, and as such believe that the will of the people should prevail. When Iowans take the very rare action of removing judges from office, there is a reason for it.

In recent speeches, Chief Justice Cady made the following statements: “Iowa’s Constitution has always been a living Constitution” and that the public has an “acceptance of the court’s role to carefully and accurately sort through each controversy to draw out the true will of the people.” I do not agree that the Iowa Constitution should change over time without amending it. It is my interpretation that this document should not bend to fit a judge or court’s opinion. Iowa voters are watching and will have their say in the next retention election.