KDSN RADIO News
Dawson says lawmakers have chance for ‘wholesale changes’ in Iowa’s property tax system
The lawmaker who’s led tax reduction efforts in the Iowa Senate for nearly a decade says the legislature has been in “a cycle of putting band aids” on Iowa’s property tax system. Dan Dawson, the Republican who’s chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said it’s time for a fix that will last for decades.
“Any reform that isn’t sustainable and doesn’t move the needle on Iowa being one of the worst states for property taxes in the country isn’t worth doing,” Dawson told Radio Iowa. “The reason why we’re talking about this isn’t because it polls well. Iowa is the 10th worst state in the country when it comes to property taxes, full stop.”
Governor Reynolds will soon release her proposal for changes in Iowa’s property tax system, perhaps next Tuesday when she delivers an annual speech to the legislature. Dawson isn’t ready to discuss what Senate Republicans might propose this year, but last April Dawson said the key would be limiting how much local government budgets can increase year to year. During an interview with Radio Iowa this week, Dawson would only say that whatever bill is developed must be comprehensive.
“If you don’t do that, all you are doing is creating a guerrilla warfare system of taxpayer-versus-taxpayer,” Dawson said. “They want quality services, but they also want a fair property tax system, and the current system we have right now is absolutely not fair.”
There are “only so many levers” state lawmakers can pull when it comes to the property tax system, according to Dawson, but he said lawmakers have an opportunity during the 2026 legislative session “to make wholesale changes.”
On Monday, House Democrats released their “flat property tax” proposal.
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