Andrew Mellon believed durable tax reform requires spending restraint and debt reduction first, arguing that balanced budgets, and not higher tax rates, are essential to long-term prosperity and revenue stability. Mellon warned that high tax rates discourage investment, encourage avoidance, and ultimately harm economic growth while failing to deliver the promised revenue gains. His principles offe...
Iowa’s 3.8% flat tax is the culmination of a decade-long reform effort, beginning in 2018, made possible by conservative budgeting, spending restraint, and structural tax reforms, not a one-time tax cut or temporary policy experiment. A flat tax is fairer, simpler, and more transparent than a progressive system, treating taxpayers equally under a single rate while preserving deductions and credits...
Vermont is facing a projected 12% property tax increase, driven by declining student enrollment and rapidly escalating public education spending—now over $29,000 per pupil. Lawmakers passed Act 73 to restructure the education system and reduce long-term costs, but disagreements remain over school consolidation and implementation, while other states like Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and South Dakota ...
Affordability challenges stem from rising local government spending, not an elusive formula of tax incentives and abatements, and property taxes remain high because spending continues to outpace taxpayers’ ability to pay. Targeted tax abatements and business incentives have failed to deliver broad affordability, instead shifting tax burdens onto other residents while benefiting a narrow group of p...
Iowa can deliver meaningful, lasting property tax relief by focusing reform on two areas: capping local government spending growth at 2 percent and replacing Iowa’s ineffective notification system with a Minnesota-style Truth-in-Taxation model. A spending cap would confront local government spending, the primary driver of Iowa’s rapidly rising property taxes, and treat all taxpayers fairly while i...
Iowa leaders are making property tax reform a top priority in the 2026 session, but durable solutions require more than rate changes—they must follow established principles of sound tax policy. Tax policy should follow five guiding principles: fairness, competitiveness, transparency, limits on government growth, and protection of individual freedom. Lasting reform must broaden relief to all taxpay...
In November 2025, Iowa voters weighed in on 58 local bond proposals, which directly affect property tax bills for up to 20 years, with turnout significantly higher than in other local races. Average turnout for bond elections was 37.1%, more than double the statewide average for city and school elections, suggesting voters engage more when long-term tax impacts are clear. Higher voter participatio...
S&P Global and Fitch Ratings have reaffirmed Iowa’s AAA credit rating, citing strong fiscal management, robust reserve levels, and prudent budgeting practices that continue to anchor the state’s financial position. Both rating agencies warned Iowa to maintain disciplined spending, noting risks tied to rising costs in education and Medicaid, economic headwinds in agriculture, and federal policy unc...
Despite ranking among the nation’s worst tax climates and having some of the highest income, sales, and property taxes, Massachusetts has successfully enforced a strong property tax cap through its Proposition 2½ for more than 40 years. The cap limits annual levy growth to 2.5%, encourages disciplined budgeting, and includes a voter-approved override process, enabling communities to fund prioritie...
Facing taxpayer frustration over rising property taxes, the City of Grand Rapids pursued a zero-percent levy increase by cutting or delaying nearly $1 million in spending. Minnesota’s Truth-in-Taxation process has empowered residents to engage meaningfully in budget decisions, with strong public turnout influencing both city and county officials. The experience demonstrates that transparency, taxp...
Iowa’s school income surtax, first adopted in 1971, is a district-level tax calculated as a percentage of a taxpayer’s Iowa income tax liability and used to support discretionary school programs. Districts may combine the surtax with property taxes to fund the Instructional Support Levy (ISL) and the voter-approved Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL), adjusting the surtax rate annually to mee...
Iowa, like South Dakota, faces economic uncertainty driven by multi-year weakness in the agricultural sector, with direct impacts on manufacturing, employment, and state tax revenue. Despite national headwinds, revised GDP data and December REC estimates show Iowa is performing better than previously reported, offering cautious optimism heading into Fiscal Year 2027. To maintain Iowa’s strong fisc...
Iowa’s current 99% spending limitation helps restrain spending but can be easily bypassed and doesn’t prevent government from growing faster than taxpayers’ ability to pay. Stronger fiscal rules, such as tying spending to population plus inflation, limiting tax increases, or constitutional protections, would build long-term stability and safeguard recent tax reforms. Conservative budgeting has alr...
In the Institutes of the Christian Religion theologian John Calvin outlined the major tenants of Reformed theology, which became known as the Doctrines of Grace or “Calvinism.” Calvin’s Institutes was, and remains today, a foundational text of the Reformation. Further, Calvin’s theology went beyond just Reformed Biblical interpretation, but it impacted political philosophy. David W. Hall argues th...
It may be hard to believe, but President Franklin D. Roosevelt once offered a blueprint for property tax reform that remains relevant for Iowa policymakers today. Interestingly, this blueprint didn’t come from his progressive New Deal agenda, but rather from a campaign speech he delivered 93 years ago during the 1932 presidential campaign. At the time, then–New York Governor Roosevelt was not only...
Iowa’s K–12 enrollment is declining as birth rates fall and fewer young families move into the state, and that trend is expected to continue for at least the next decade. Enrollment drives school funding, which means shrinking student counts—especially in small districts—create financial pressure and push more districts onto the “budget guarantee,” shifting costs onto local property taxpayers. Dis...
School districts are the single largest driver of Iowa property taxes, yet school spending is rarely included in reform discussions. Other states are limiting school budgets to control local taxes, with New Hampshire and South Dakota currently demonstrating that education can’t be exempt from spending discipline. Iowa can deliver meaningful property tax relief only by applying spending limits to s...
Central Iowa taxpayers and legislators voiced overwhelming frustration with high property taxes, citing rising local spending and a lack of transparency. Audience testimony highlighted widespread concern about school spending priorities and commercial property burdens, with many noting that facilities expansion has outpaced academic results and that high property taxes are discouraging business in...
A prediction of Supreme Court expansion sparks a deeper debate about whether sweeping institutional reforms align with or undermine the constitutional framework the Founders designed. America was built as a republic, not a pure democracy, with federalism, separation of powers, the Electoral College, and an independent judiciary intentionally structured to restrain majority impulses and protect lib...