Iowa Poll: Majorities of Iowans favor property tax cuts, eliminating personal income tax
© Copyright 2023, Des Moines Register and Tribune Co.
Majorities of Iowans favor cutting property taxes and gradually eliminating the state’s individual income tax, according to a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll.
Fifty-eight percent of Iowans say they favor initiatives to “cut property taxes, limiting what local governments could spend on services.” Thirty-four percent are opposed and 8% are not sure.
And 56% of Iowans favor “gradually reducing the state’s individual income tax rate until it is eliminated.” One-third of Iowans are opposed and 11% are not sure.
The poll of 805 Iowa adults was conducted March 5-8 by Selzer & Co. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
David Warner, a Republican poll respondent from rural Altoona, favors cutting both.
“Property taxes, I think, are pretty high. Vehicles, I think, are pretty high. Plus, we’re paying 6% or more in some counties on sales tax,” he said. “My gosh, where does it end?”
Iowa lawmakers looking to cut property taxes and individual income taxes
Legislative Republicans, who hold large majorities in the Iowa House and Senate, are considering bills that would cut both kinds of taxes.
Republican leaders have said property tax cuts are a priority this year, pointing to rapidly rising home assessments and complaints from residents about their bills.
Lawmakers have yet to agree on an approach to property taxes, but they are considering several ideas, including reducing certain tax levies, consolidating other levies and limiting how much property tax rates can grow each year.
More:Senate Republicans advance bill to eventually eliminate Iowa's income tax. Here's the plan
In the Senate, a Republican bill would lower the state’s income tax rate to 2.5% by 2028. Beginning in 2030, the bill would use the money in the state’s taxpayer relief fund to continue lowering the rate until it is eliminated.
The proposals are on top of a $1.9 billion tax cut Gov. Kim Reynolds signed last year that eliminated taxes on retirement income and lowered corporate taxes, while also lowering Iowans’ individual income tax rate to a 3.9% flat tax by 2026.
An Iowa Poll conducted Feb. 28-March 2 last year found 54% of Iowans favored cutting income taxes to the 3.9% flat rate, while 53% opposed the corporate tax cuts.
Reynolds has said she hopes to eliminate Iowa’s individual income tax by the end of her current term in office, which would be 2027.
Iowa is expected to take in less money as a result of the tax cuts, but Republicans say they are confident the state can sustain the revenue loss.
More:Lawmakers vote to cushion Iowa property taxpayers from $133M hike as cities eye shortfall
Parents with children in public school favor cutting property taxes
Support for property tax cuts is strongest among Republicans, the Iowa Poll found, with 72% in favor, compared with 60% of political independents and 33% of Democrats.
Iowans who live in towns and rural areas are more likely to favor cutting property taxes, with 63% support from those in towns and 60% support in rural areas, compared with 54% in cities and 50% in suburbs.
The idea draws majority support in all four congressional districts. The heaviest support, 68%, comes in the 4th District, which encompasses northwestern and north central Iowa and counties bordering the Missouri River. The lowest level, at 52%, is in the 2nd District, in northeastern Iowa.
The idea has majority support from Iowans earning more than $100,000 annually, with 60% in favor, and those making less than $50,000, with 55% in favor.
Although a large portion of property taxes in Iowa go to public education, parents of children attending public school show some of the strongest support for cutting property taxes, with 67% in favor and 28% opposed.
Kim Bowker, a 42-year-old poll respondent from Davenport, favors cutting property taxes. Bowker, a political independent who works as an assistant manager at a deli, said the local schools aren’t making good use of her property taxes.
She said her sons aren’t getting the support they need from their school to help with their individualized education plans and mental illness.
More:Higher taxes? Fewer cops? How Des Moines metro cities may respond to property tax error
“They have been failing repeatedly throughout the years,” Bowker said of the schools. “And that’s not just my kids. I know other kids that are failing out of school because they’re not getting what they need.”
Carol Popken, a 79-year-old poll respondent from Clive who opposes a legislative move to cut property taxes, said she’s proud of the services the city offers to its residents, including its Greenbelt Trail. She wasn’t upset when she got her recent property tax bill in the mail.
“I’m happy to pay the property taxes,” she said. “If the community is a nice place to live that has nice parks and keeps up the roads and has good fire and rescue, then to me that makes my house more valuable. And when I go to sell it, I’ll get more money.”
Large majorities of Republicans and men favor cutting individual income taxes
The poll results show a similar partisan breakdown when it comes to eliminating the individual income tax rate.
Nearly three-fourths of Republicans, 72%, favor eliminating the income tax, with 20% opposed. Independents are in line with the results of the state as a whole: 56% in favor and 33% opposed.
Meanwhile, 34% of Democrats say they are in favor and 57% are opposed.
Men are more likely than women to favor eliminating the income tax, 62% and 50%, respectively.
Evangelicals show a higher level of support, at 67%, than other religious groups tested.
FAQs: How is the Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll conducted? We answer your top questions.
Warner, the Altoona poll respondent, said states around the country are competing to attract residents by lowering income taxes. The 65-year-old, who works as a pilot, said that type of policy could help bring in more residents like him and his wife, who are nearing retirement age.
“That could be something that could attract people into a state,” he said, “or maybe make a decision to change your state of residency to another state where you don’t have to pay that.”
Popken, a Democrat who is retired from Principal Financial Group, opposes eliminating the income tax. She said people who can afford to pay should do so.
“I just believe in paying my fair share,” she said. “And I consider myself kind of wealthy, and so I just feel like I should pay.”
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.
About the Poll
The Iowa Poll, conducted March 5-8, 2023, for The Des Moines Register and Mediacom by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, is based on telephone interviews with 805 Iowans ages 18 or older. Interviewers with Quantel Research contacted households with randomly selected landline and cell phone numbers supplied by Dynata. Interviews were administered in English. Responses were adjusted by age, sex and congressional district to reflect the general population based on recent American Community Survey estimates.
Questions based on the sample of 805 Iowa adults have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. This means that if this survey were repeated using the same questions and the same methodology, 19 times out of 20, the findings would not vary from the true population value by more than plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Results based on smaller samples of respondents — such as by gender or age — have a larger margin of error.
Republishing the copyright Iowa Poll without credit to The Des Moines Register and Mediacom is prohibited.
Iowa Poll methodology
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Most Iowans favor property tax cuts, eliminating income tax: Iowa Poll
