KDSN RADIO News
Leader says Iowa House GOP priority in 2025 will be property tax reform
House Speaker Pat Grassley says if Republicans retain the majority in the Iowa House after the November election, his focus will be property tax reform.
“We’ve made steps in the right direction, but I think we have to really look at it,” Grassley said. “We have to reshape the balance of the property tax conversation around the taxpayer.”
Grassley spoke with Radio Iowa Wednesday night at the conclusion of his campaign fundraiser in Waverly. He said over the past six years Republican lawmakers have focused heavily on cutting income taxes, but the property tax bills Iowans are receiving from local governments also require response from state policymakers.
“We need to force the conversation that taxing authorities sit down in a room and decide: We’re only getting so much of Iowans’ money. How are we going to best spend it? Because right now I don’t think the system is in favor of the property taxpayer. I think we can fundamentally change that,” Grassley said. “Now, that being said, not everyone’s going to love that, but to really tackle that issue of property taxes, we’re going to have to be bold in doing this. We can’t just nibble around the edges. We’re going to have to take it head-on.”
Grassley admitted previous attempts at significant change in the state’s property tax system have stalled, but Grassley says Republican lawmakers have “a recent track record” of accomplishing “tough things.”
“We have proven with some of the things that we have done, this governor in partnership with the legislature has tackled issues that we have tried before and we’ve been successful,” Grassley said. “…Choice in education, you look at the largest tax cuts in state history.”
Back in 2003, legislative leaders from both parties formed a working group to tackle property tax reform but were unable to come up with an agreement. In 2013, then-Governor Terry Branstad signed a bill designed to limit commercial property tax growth. During the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers passed an estimated $100 million in targeted property tax relief, including a new property tax credit for Iowans over the age of 65.
