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Tax reform proponents should look elsewhere than property tax
Peter Hansen
Jan. 5, 2025 6:00 am
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In August 2024, Iowans for Tax Relief (ITR) proposed “A 2 Percent Property Tax Cap” — meaning annual property tax increases could not exceed 2%.
However, the annual change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has exceeded 2% in 39 of the last 50 years with an average increase of 3.96%. Since the principal beneficiaries of property taxes are the K-12 public schools, the ITR proposal is really a call for the continued defunding of our public schools.
If “tax relief” is the true goal of the ITR, why don’t they propose a decrease in the retail sales tax, the most regressive of our taxes, i.e., the tax that hurts the poor the most?
Peter Hansen
Iowa City
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