Key Lawmaker Says Iowa GOP Property Tax Plan Won’t Bring ‘Overnight’ Changes

(Radio Iowa) The top Republican on a senate panel that drafts tax policy says property tax reform plans will be developed first before other any tax ideas are considered. Senator Dan Dawson of Council Bluffs is chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

“Obviously, property taxes is the name of the game this year,” Dawson says, “and we’ll see what opportunities we have here.” Dawson is hinting that legislators are likely to propose changes that are phased in, because the state’s property tax system is complicated.

“The system didn’t get there overnight and I don’t expect us to change things overnight,” Dawson says, “but we’re going to have to kind of find out a different way of going about our system right now, because it’s not sustainable.” Senator Pam Jochum of Dubuque, the top Democrat on the committee, is urging Republicans to move cautiously, since property taxes pay for a variety of city and county services. And more than 40 percent of property taxes support K-through-12 schools.