The sub-committee of the state legislature that is dealing with commercial property tax reform met for the first time yesterday morning. They looked at House Study Bill 500 which would decrease the percentage of property tax value that can be taxed from 100% to 60% over 14 years. Some lawmakers including Senator Sandy Greiner are worried that reducing commercial property taxes could lead to an increase in home and farm property taxes. County Treasurer Jeff Garret says a sizable portion of the county’s budget comes from commercial property taxes because commercial property can be taxed at 100 percent of their value. He agrees that there is a danger of residential property taxes increasing to meet the county’s budget demands, but would like to see some state funding to help the reduced budgets the counties in Iowa might face.

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