Republicans in the Iowa House are pushing a tax-forgiveness plan for specially designed “renaissance” areas. Property taxes and even state income taxes would be waived for residents and businesses who settle in the areas. House Speaker Brent Siegrist, a republican from Council Bluffs, says local city and county officials would apply to the state economic development board for a “renaissance zone” designation.Taxes would be waived for up to 15 years in the zone, which could be as large as three thousand acres. It’s modeled after an idea in Michigan, where four thousand jobs were created in the past four years in a tax-free zone around Grand Rapids.Siegrist says it might help border areas near South Dakota and Illinois better compete with those lower-tax states.
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