Democrats in the Iowa House are proposing $1000 property tax rebates for all Iowa homeowners and $500 rebates for renters.
Representative Dave Jacoby of Coralville said Democrats are proposing “immediate tax relief” compared to the property tax changes Republicans recently unveiled. “In fact, whenever we talk property taxes and ‘we’re going to fix property taxes,’ all of the Iowans I talk to, their bologna meter kind of goes off,” Jacoby said during a recent appearance on Iowa Press on Iowa PBS.
The state’s Taxpayer Relief Fund has well over $3.7 billion in it. Jacoby that could be the source of annual rebates for homeowners and renters over the next three to five years, giving lawmakers time to work through “a true overhaul” of the state’s property tax system.
“We keep talking about property taxes and, again, none of them have been successful over the last 13 years,” Jacoby said. “If you’re in a group of people are you ask them: ‘Raise your hand if your homeowners’ property taxes went down,’ you’re not going to see anybody raise their hand.”
Republicans hold the majority of seats in the legislature and control what’s debated. Republicans say, by law, the Taxpayer Relief Fund must be used for income tax relief and it is being used to finance the income tax cuts they’ve enacted. Iowa’s individual income tax rate fell to 3.8% in January. As state tax revenue declines, Republicans plan to make withdrawals from the Taxpayer Relief Fund to supplement some state spending.