A property tax relief bill remains in negotiations with the Iowa Legislature as one lawmaker reviews some of the details of it.

District 24 Senator Jesse Green says the proposal includes phasing out all of the property rollbacks over the next five years so that local governments can levy for 100 percent of the taxable valuations of properties. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that the bill also includes a restriction that if the rollbacks are phased out, then the tax levies must be brought down accordingly. He believes that by doing this method, it will help with simplifying the property tax process. 

“It gets rid of some of the credits but then we, in exchange, use those credits to buy down some of the 540 levy on the educational formula. So that’s how we would re-direct those credits to property tax relief for everybody.” 

Green points out another benefit of the bill is a property tax freeze for homeowners that are 70 and older, along with some exemptions for veterans that are proposed to remain in place. He adds that there would be an estimated seven percent reduction in property taxes, or a $400 million relief, over that time span. The bill has yet to be fully approved by both the House and Senate.