A $250 million commercial property tax cut won bipartisan support in the Senate on April 15.
Senate File 295 cuts commercial property taxes for every Iowa business, starting from the bottom up. That means most of the benefit goes to local small business owners, the biggest job creators in our communities.
Iowa’s commercial property tax system has become a barrier to new job creation and business expansion. Commercial property owners pay taxes on 100 percent of the assessed value of their property. That’s about twice what residential property owners pay.
When the “Main Street Tax Cut” is complete, 80 percent of Iowa commercial properties—those valued at $324,000 or less—will be taxed at the same rate as residential properties. The remaining businesses will get the same break on the first $324,000 of value.
The Senate’s plan is the only one that protects Iowans from a “tax shift” that will increase their residential property taxes. State dollars will replace the commercial property tax dollars that used to go to schools, local governments and community colleges.