SPENCER, Iowa (KTIV) -
Iowa has one of the highest commercial property taxes in the nation and it's one of the issues lawmakers have been grappling with since the last session.
Saturday, at an "Eggs and Issues" forum in Spencer, state officials weighed in and took in public opinion of the Governor's proposal to cut commercial taxes.
His goal is to reduce the commercial property tax by 40% over the next eight years.
Currently commercial property owners pay 100% of their value while homeowners pay less than half.
Next year, taxes will be reduced by 5% and the state would offer local governments $5 million to offset the revenue loss.
But county and city leaders are still concerned about what the tax cuts could do locally.
"If we make a huge change in the property taxes, it's called a reduction is what they're looking at. So we need to make sure we still provide adequate resources to local government to carry out the needs and services at the local level," said David Vaudt, Iowa State Auditor.
State auditor Vaudt says that while the decisions come from the state. officials still need to keep an open ear at the local level to see how much effect the reduced tax rate could have.
"We need to work out and reach out to local government and make sure we're getting their input on what will work and what won't work at the local level. Because we have a great deal of expertise out there and we need to rely on that," said Vaudt.
Governor Terry Branstad says the reduction of the tax rates are vital to compete with other states for new business.
