A 2 Percent Property Tax Cap – A Necessary Step for Iowa

Had the 24 cities and counties examined in this report followed a 2 percent cap over the last decade, Iowans in those communities alone would have $160 million more in their wallets to satisfy their desires, including investing in the future, saving for a rainy day, and attaining their American Dream. OVERVIEW The Problem: Unchecked Property Tax Growth Lessons from […]

How Much Does Your County Have in Reserve?

Some counties may be holding on to more reserve funds than necessary. Why the numbers matter. High property taxes are the number one issue in most Iowans’ minds. When the Iowa Legislature attempts to fix this problem by lowering the amount of property tax counties and other local governments can collect, some claim they will have to cut emergency management […]

A Look Into the Finances of Iowa’s Community Colleges

Federal, state, and local funding helps subsidize community college tuition costs. As an agricultural state, Iowa has historically had a lot of ground to cover establishing institutions of higher learning. In 1950, only one-third of Iowans aged 25 and over had high school diplomas or more education. The most-recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau raises that figure to 93% of all Iowans.   […]

Accelerate, Lower, and Eliminate: A Pro-Growth Blueprint to Make Iowa’s Tax Code More Competitive

Additional income tax cuts will generate hundreds of millions of dollars per year in economic growth for Iowa. After three significant rounds of tax cuts since 2018, Iowa firmly established itself as the national leader in state-based tax reform. Now, the state government has a real possibility of eliminating the income tax, making Iowa the first state to do so. […]

Iowa’s Local Option Sales Tax: A Primer

One of the foundational arguments for creating a Local Option Sales Tax was to offset the property tax burden. However, the property tax reduction has not come to fruition for many Iowa communities, leaving citizens with a higher sales tax burden and an increasing property tax burden, too. After the property tax, local sales taxes are the most-important source of […]

City Budget Reserves and the Impact on Taxpayers

Some cities may have collected more taxes than they needed and now they’re stockpiling your cash. Why the numbers matter During debate in the 2023 Iowa Legislature over a technical correction related to the taxable value of properties, the spotlight touched on the topic of reserve funds. The correction in question lowers the amount of taxable valuation cities and other local governments […]

Where are Iowa Cities Spending Property Taxes?

Iowa cities do important work, and that requires the collection of taxes. Problems surface, however, when cities with similar populations and services spend vastly different amounts of taxpayers’ money. Iowa’s 940 cities collect around 30% of all the property taxes we pay each year. Many of us are supportive of spending on law enforcement, emergency management, and roads. Where disagreement […]

How Is Your County Spending Property Taxes?

Iowa counties do important work. However, problems surface when counties with similar populations and services spend vastly different amounts of taxpayers’ money. Iowa’s 99 counties collect the third-largest portion of property taxes statewide, after cities and school districts — representing approximately 22 percent of the overall property tax burden. Counties have historically played a major role in the conduct of […]

County Unassigned Fund Balance Transparency

Some counties may be holding on to more reserve funds than necessary. Why the numbers matter. During debate in the 2023 Iowa Legislature over a technical correction related to the taxable value of properties, the spotlight touched on the topic of reserve funds. The correction in question lowers the amount of taxable valuation counties and other local governments can draw from, and […]

A Primer on Ending Fund Balances

Unassigned General Fund dollars beyond 15-30% of annual General Fund Expenditures might be  excessive. The concept of reserve funds and ending fund balances have been discussed by lawmakers and local officials alike in recent days at the Iowa Capitol and in the press.  It’s something we’ve had our eyes on for years here at Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation.  Following […]

Iowa’s Assessment Limitation – Rollback

 Iowa is one of 18 states that have assessment limitations to limit the growth of property taxes. Iowa is somewhat unique, however, because there is no limitation on property subject to rollback. Once calculated, it applies to all properties, even new construction. The property tax revolts of the late 1970s constituted the most significant property tax limitation movement in our […]

Solutions to Iowa’s Growing Property Tax Problem

Iowa has too much government. Citizens have benefitted from conservative leadership at the state level that has delivered multiple rounds of tax cuts and eased the regulatory burden on businesses and employees, but big-government objectives like property tax growth are on autopilot with no off ramp in sight. Reining in the growth of local government requires solutions to numerous issues.

Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation (ITRF) has created this toolkit to deliver a concise and easily digestible public policy guide for state and local officials who are interested in property tax reform. Since no single policy solution will “fix” Iowa’s property tax, this toolkit offers concrete ideas for policymakers that will bend the expense curve and eventually reduce the burden on taxpayers.

Where Did Iowa’s Local COVID Relief Funds Go?

In March 2021, the United States was in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to previous large-scale stimulus measures, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) on a party-line vote. Relief for state and local governments was among the most thoroughly debated provisions of the legislation, ultimately sending $130.2 billion to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments. Iowa cities and counties collectively received $1.162 billion. The state’s largest eleven metropolitan cities received nearly $335 million, while counties took in $612 million and smaller governments received $216 million in payments.

2020 Candidate Education Guide

Recently TEF Iowa polled Iowans to get their view on some key public policy issues. In this guide you will find not only how Iowans think about these issues, but also public policy solutions that align with the interest of Iowans. TEF Iowa has developed this guide as a resource to provide legislative candidates additional information on some of the […]

Tax Credits

Iowa Has One of the Worst Business Climates in the Nation Iowa competes with 49 states for businesses and people. What policies will allow Iowa to be more competitive and attract more people, businesses, and entrepreneurial activity?   While the economy overall is doing well, Iowa is still confronted with some serious economic problems. Whether it is slow population growth, […]