Property Tax Alert: Iowa

February 2007

Iowa Governor Chet Culver has created a nine-member tax task force to make recommendations regarding the treatment of commercial and other classes of property taxes.

The task force has made two immediate recommendations, and has proposed a two-year study to address other priority issues confronting Iowa property tax taxpayers. The first recommendation called for commercial property owners to receive a refund of their commercial property taxes to be reported on income tax forms and paid as a property tax refund. The second recommendation called for equalizing the disparities among school districts. The task force concluded that it will be necessary to increase the state's share of K-12 education funding over the coming years to relieve the tax burden on property owners.

The task force has recommended that the following topics be given top priority: decoupling agricultural and residential property valuations and limiting all classes of property to 2% annual increases and decreases; creating a more transparent property tax system; improving efficiencies among local governmental services; and reviewing and analyzing properties exempt from property tax to determine the best interests of both property tax taxpayers and tax-exempt institutions.

Please contact Rash & Associates for more information.