Iowa lawmakers optimistic about property tax changes

DES MOINES (AP) ? After decades of failed attempts, Iowa lawmakers said they?re hopeful this will be the session they succeed in at least beginning to overhaul the state?s property tax system.

With hopes of adjourning this week, legislators are running out of time, but they expressed optimism that Republicans and Democrats would reach a deal.

?We need property tax reform for all classes of property and we need relief that limits the shift from one class of property to another,? said Senate Minority Leader Jerry Behn, R-Boone. ?Negotiations are ongoing and Governor Branstad has made it crystal clear he does not intend to have the Legislature leave Des Moines without a bill to make Iowa more competitive when it comes to property taxes.?

Lawmakers have considered changing Iowa?s property tax system for at least 30 years, but the issue is a nightmare for politicians because in Iowa, farmland, businesses and residential property are all taxed differently, and to tinker with one means shifting the burden onto the others.

This year, though, veteran legislators said they have reached a bipartisan agreement to address property taxes before adjourning.

?I would give it a 60 percent or 70 percent chance,? said Rep. Stewart Iverson, R-Clarion. ?I sense some movement and some momentum on the issue, which surprises me a little.?

Rep. Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, said the final deal will require compromises and might not address the entire property tax system.

Legislators of both parties agree that Iowa?s business property taxes are out of line with neighboring states, and that put Iowa companies at a disadvantage. But Republicans and Democrats take different approaches to resolving the matter.

Gov. Terry Branstad and Republicans who hold a majority in the House have repeatedly called for an across-the-board cut of 40 percent on business property taxes spread over a number of years. In the Senate, Democrats who hold a majority have called for a smaller package that would target small businesses. The agreement being hammered out combines the two approaches.

House Speaker Kraig Paulsen said he?s worked on property tax since being elected to the House in 2002. Although lawmakers haven?t reached a deal, Paulsen said they?re getting closer.

?That would be something I?m excited about,? Paulsen said. ?I?ve worked on property taxes for years and years.?