While the homestead exemption will reduce property taxes by exempting a certain amount of a home’s value from taxation, it will be short-lived if local governments are not given a spending limitation. Iowa lawmakers responded to constituent complaints of rising assessments and growing property tax bills with the most comprehensive property tax reform package in over 30 years. One specific […]
This legislation delivers more transparency and spending restraint for taxpayers. However, future property tax reform must be pursued and include strong budget or spending limits applied to entire local government budgets. A wide-ranging package of property tax reforms were approved inside the Iowa State Capitol this week, as a compromise bill (HF 718) passed both legislative chambers with overwhelming bipartisan […]
This article was published in the Cedar Rapids Gazette. A spending limit applied to local governments requiring them to earn a vote of the people to raise spending forces governments to be more accountable and to justify new spending. Taxpayers across the state are upset after receiving their property assessment notices in the mail. Property assessments in Iowa have increased, […]
Local government officials should focus less on “keeping up with the Joneses” and more on the core services demanded by their constituents. Property taxes are arguably the most hated tax in Iowa, and rightfully so. The tax bill grows whether or not the homeowner has done anything to the property. Consequently, Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation’s latest poll found that […]
The recent ITR Foundation poll shows Iowans are concerned about their own financial stability and the role inflation and government tax-and-spend policies have on their budget. Iowans are increasingly concerned about the economy, with high inflation and national economic uncertainty contributing to their anxiety. A recent poll conducted by ITR Foundation found that 74.4 percent of Iowans believe the nation is heading […]
This article was published in the Iowa Capital Dispatch. Truth-in-Taxation forces local governments to be more transparent, holds local governments accountable, and provides an opportunity for citizens to have an honest conversation with their elected officials about property taxes. Frustration with high property taxes is reaching a boiling point, especially after taxpayers across Iowa are receiving their assessment notices. Taxpayers […]
Click here to download your copy of Iowans Favor Income Tax Constitutional Protection one-pager. Iowa has made great progress in reducing income taxes over the past few years. One question that is now being asked is, what is the best way to protect taxpayers from dramatic and damaging increases in the future? The most recent ITR Foundation poll found that over 60% of Iowans […]
The system used to calculate property taxes in Iowa is too complicated. It’s easy to get lost in all of the calculations that go into determining your property tax bill, so we’ll try to simplify some of the items for you. The first thing to remember is property taxes in your community are determined by how much your local elected […]
Property taxes are a heavy burden for Iowans and voters are demanding that the legislature step up to offer some relief. The most recent ITR Foundation poll found that a full two-thirds of Iowans support the general assembly setting limits on how much a local government can tax and spend in order to control the growth of property taxes.
When a state starts to move away from sound tax policy, even if it does so with the best of intentions, unintended consequences can abound. Exempting certain goods and services from taxation is a literal example of government “picking winners and losers.” A sales tax holiday is a limited time period during which a state frees purchases of specific items […]
Iowa taxpayers and small businesses would be better served if federal policymakers made the TCJA permanent, pushed back on proposed tax increases, and fought inflation by cutting government spending. This article was published in The Cedar Rapids Gazette. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) brought historic tax relief to taxpayers. Taxpayers and small business owners across Iowa benefited greatly […]
All bonded indebtedness, voted levies, and other revenue or spending questions that directly affect property taxes should be placed on November election ballots for the greatest possible participation of the electorate. On March 7, 2023, 22 taxing authorities spread across 35 Iowa counties held special elections that included bond questions totaling nearly $400 million in potential new spending. A majority of […]
Taxpayers who believe their assessments are incorrect have a window between April 2 and April 30 to officially protest them. All real property in Iowa is assessed beginning in January of odd-numbered years. Residential, commercial, and industrial properties are assessed according to their market values, while agricultural property is assessed according to its productivity and net earning capacity. Iowans may […]
It turns out that defining the proper role of local government, deciphering between wants and needs, and frustrated property taxpayers are not dynamics that are unique to Iowa. Our friends at
The Cardinal Institute in West Virginia are working through those same issues in their state. In a recent article, Cardinal’s Executive Director, Garrett Ballengee joined with Mark Moses, a former city finance administrator and local budget expert, to examine municipal finance and discuss the concept of mission creep.
As Iowans wrapped up their New Year’s celebrations in January, they were greeted by a new tax code with lower income tax rates for families and businesses. With even more tax cuts scheduled, and a complete elimination being considered, Iowa’s lawmakers are steadily improving our state’s tax climate. When considering the top corporate income tax rate, Iowa has moved from the highest rate in the country (50th) at 12.00 percent in 2018, to a better, but still high rate of 8.40 percent (41st) in 2023. Similarly, Iowa’s individual income tax rate has moved from 8.98 percent (46th) in 2018, to 6.00 percent (33rd) this year.
A Des Moines Register poll of Iowa adults conducted in early March found majorities favoring property tax cuts and gradual elimination of the state’s individual income tax. One question asked whether Iowans favor “cut[ting] property taxes, limiting what local governments could spend on services.”
Whether it is the passage of a universal ESA or the largest tax reform in Iowa’s history, Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Legislature have made some big changes that have made Iowa a great place to live, work, and raise a family. Two years ago, no state gave all parents money to help educate their children.
Retirees provide countless hours of volunteer service and contribute to the culture of Iowa. Eliminating their retirement income taxes will encourage them to remain in the state. Last year, the Iowa Legislature passed an historic tax reform measure covering a variety of income sources. This legislation was not only the largest tax cut in Iowa history, but also the most […]
While taxpayers have a choice whether to stay home or dine out and support area businesses, they should not be forced to pay for a commercial developer’s business loan. This type of tax increase should go to a vote of the people. Do Iowans want to pay supercharged sales taxes when they go out to eat? Will they be excited […]
While some proposals want to fund more spending, a bill has been introduced in the Senate to utilize the Taxpayer Relief Fund to phase-out the income tax altogether. “Keep your eye on one thing and one thing only: how much government is spending, because that’s the true tax,” the late economist Milton Friedman once stated. Paying out public dollars is the […]
The benefit of switching to a set dollar exemption is taxpayers would receive a predictable and permanent form of relief that does not depend on the state’s fiscal situation. A tax bill proposed in the 2023 Legislature would switch Iowa from a credit to an exemption as the form of property tax relief for homesteads — or residents’ primary housing. […]
Iowa county bond information is not easy to acquire. State law should require county auditors to have this information on their website and also require the Secretary of State’s office to aggregate this information so news outlets and interested parties could more easily report on bonds and property tax increases being asked at special elections. On March 7, 2023, thirty-five Iowa […]
A proposed $43 million expenditure will be placed on Urbandale’s March 7th ballot requiring 60% approval to pass. If the special election harbors the same voter turnout as last year’s special election, just 14% of voters could commit their community to tens of millions of dollars in spending. The burden of property taxes is a heavy one for many Iowans […]
This article was published in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Despite numerous changes, lasting relief has not been delivered and Iowa currently has the 10th-highest property tax burden in the nation. If you have lived in Iowa for any length of time, then you know property taxes are, without a doubt, the most despised tax in the state. That’s why numerous […]
Simplifying the tax code and forcing cities to live within the general fund levy rate will result in tax relief for property taxpayers. Over the course of Iowa’s history, the legislature has approved multiple property tax levies dedicated to specific uses in municipalities. Many of these special levies came into existence decades ago and no longer serve a purpose. Iowa […]