State Representative Dan Kelley of Newton is sponsoring a bill this session that would reduce property taxes up to $40 million next year.
“We know there are huge inequities in Iowa’s property tax system and this bill is a common sense step we can use to reduce property taxes and make the system fairer for all Iowans,” said Kelley. “This plan has strong bi-partisan support and I’m hopeful it can get approved before we adjourn for the year.”
Kelley is a sponsor of House File 179, which provides about $40 million in property tax relief through a special state fund designed to reduce and equalize property taxes statewide. The bill prevents a property tax increase when the Legislature approves state aid for schools and also targets relief to property tax payers in school districts with rates higher than the state average.
The table below shows how much property tax relief is provided by school district.
If approved, property owners in the Newton Community School District would see a rate reduction of nearly 44 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation. That equates to more than a half million dollars in property tax relief for the district.