Rep. Dean Fisher (R-Montour).

This was week 8 of the session. This was the first funnel week, so we were busy with subcommittee and committee work to keep bills eligible for debate.

Over the last several sessions the Republicans in the Legislature have done great work to lower income taxes. More recently, Iowans have been loud and clear that they want us to shift our focus to lowering property taxes. Towards that goal, we’ve first made our focus providing certainty to the taxpayer, and we want to make sure taxpayers are at the forefront of the conversation over the taxing entities. This week, the House introduced a number of bills for consideration regarding property taxes that will serve as a starting point to kickstart a broad conversation about property tax reform. We expect these bills will change through the process as we seek feedback from Iowans and the local governments that deal with property tax revenue and expenditures.

House Study Bill 304 calculates property taxes on a per parcel basis with a 3% annual growth limitation in terms of actual dollars on residential and agricultural property. This solution would effectively provide certainty for property taxpayers by preventing any parcel from increasing by more than 3% annually. This bill also places an 8% limit on commercial and industrial properties.

House Study Bill 303 uses the interest from the Taxpayer Relief Fund to buy down property taxes. The Taxpayer Relief Fund is currently at roughly $4 billion dollars, so the interest is significant.

House File 600 puts a cap of 2% on the average levy rate per $1000 but permits local government to go higher with a 60% vote of the people. This bill thus limits the total tax burden, but still gives the people in each local entity the control needed for their unique needs.

House File 418 modifies the methodology for determining the actual value of residential property, assessment limitations of certain classes of property, and certain levy rate limitations.

One final bill, which has not yet received a bill number, represents an overhaul of the property tax system. Based on the feedback we hear from Iowans, the current property tax system is disliked by both taxpayers and taxing entities. As this bill works its way through the process, we will be taking feedback and input from Iowans and stakeholders. This bill is meant to start an important conversation and is likely not in its final form. This bill implements a revenue restriction to ensure property tax relief for all Iowans, provides a $25K homestead benefit, brings additional property tax relief to Iowa veterans and seniors, and lowers the uniform levy as it phases out the rollback system for residential, commercial and industrial property over five years. This rollback system was enacted in 1977 and currently results in a lack of predictability for local governments, among other issues. Altogether, this bill is estimated to provide $426 million in property tax relief.

As always, I look forward to seeing you at the capitol, or in the district.

Rep. Dean Fisher’s district covers all of Poweshiek County and most of Tama County excluding the northeast corner.