Sen. Pat Ward Reports: Historic Property Tax Relief Package Would Stop $2.5 Billion Increase Over Next Decade

This past week the Iowa House passed the largest and broadest property tax relief package in the history of Iowa! It’s very important that the House and Senate reach agreement on a property tax plan that moves Iowa forward, however the House and Senate are not yet on the same page. I’d like to highlight some of the major differences in the Republican and Democrat proposals.

What are the merits of the House proposal? The drawbacks? Tell us in comments.

I believe the House Republican plan is the only property tax proposal that delivers significant tax relief and genuine and permanent reform to all classes of Iowa’s property tax payers.

We know that Iowa currently has the second highest commercial property taxes and the 16^th highest residential property taxes in the country. In fact, our commercial property taxes are on par with downtown New York City. Additionally, over the last 10 years, school property tax collections have increased 60 percent, counties have increased 64 percent and cities have gone up 74 percent. Over the same time period, Iowans’ personal income only grew by 46 percent.

If nothing is done to address our uncompetitive property tax system, Iowans will experience a $2.5 billion property tax increase over the next 10 years, with the majority of that falling to homeowners. That is absolutely unacceptable.

For the purpose of comparison, the Senate Democrats developed what I kindly refer to as a “wimpy” plan that simply doesn’t go far enough with true, sustainable property tax reform.

The Senate Democrat’s bill would only cut taxes by about $600 per parcel (building). If you look at the number of strip malls in our communities, which are considered one parcel, many of them have 8-12 units per building. This would amount to $60-75 per year for each business.

Another major flaw with the Senate Democrat bill is that it does nothing to address the coming increase in residential property taxes. Because of the current formula, residential property taxes are set to rise every year for the next several years. I am firmly committed to passing a bill that will prevent the drastic increase to your residential property taxes.

Our Republican plan creates predictability and stability for all businesses. We cannot afford to be like New York City. We want to make Iowa competitive so that we can grow jobs, jobs, and more jobs.

Highlights of our plan include:

• All Iowans receive tax relief and the bill limits the shifting of the tax burden
• Job creators receive a $602 million property tax cut
• Homeowners receive a $417 million property tax cut
• Offers a total of $1.2 billion in relief for Iowa property taxpayers

As this bill moves through the legislative process, I believe that Republicans and Democrats must come together to support a common sense property tax bill that will help re-open Iowa for job creation and career development. Property tax reform is key to growing our state and producing jobs for the people that call Iowa home.

We have two more community forums scheduled. The Clive forum is on Saturday, February 25^th from 9:30 to 11 at the Walnut Ridge Senior Campus. The West Des Moines forum will be on Saturday, March 24. Everyone is welcome!

I am your voice at the State Capitol and look forward to your input. You can reach me by calling the Capitol at (515) 281-3371 or emailing me at pat.ward@legis.iowa.gov. Your thoughts and concerns remain very important to me – it is truly an honor to serve you in the Iowa Senate.