Iowa’s property tax system is broken.
- Iowa’s property tax burden is the 10th highest in the country.
- Assessed values are expected to increase significantly this year.
- Many city councils and county supervisors won’t reduce levy rates enough to offset assessment increases.
State lawmakers need to force local elected officials to make tough spending decisions that protect family budgets by enacting an immediate, temporary freeze on property tax bills for existing properties and then consider long-term solutions.
Sign this petition to ask lawmakers to support a property tax freeze:
Freezing local government revenue from existing properties does not impact local governments’ ability to increase spending; it merely forces them to draw down cash reserves if revenue from new growth is insufficient to support what local elected officials believe is necessary for operations.
While property taxes are frozen for existing properties, lawmakers should enact long-term solutions for controlling the growth of property tax bills:
- Set stronger spending limitations.
- Close the honesty gap by “ratcheting-down” levy rates.
- Empower taxpayers with direct notification of tax increases.
- Tighten TIF and abatement usage.
- Maximize public input with November-only bond issue elections.