Report on a special investigation of the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation at Iowa State University, for the period April 1, 2009 through December 15, 2015

Report on a special investigation of the Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation at Iowa State University, for the period April 1, 2009 through December 15, 2015

Final Report: Legislative Property Tax Study Committee, January 2009

The Committee was authorized to meet three days during the 2007 Legislative Interim and two days during the 2008 Legislative Interim. The Committee met on September 12, 2007; November 7, 2007; December 5, 2007; November 14, 2008; and January 7, 2009, at the State Capitol, Des Moines, Iowa. In 2008, the Committee retained consultants from the Institute for Public Policy at George Washington University to study property taxation and other forms of revenue generation used by local governments in Iowa and other states.

Summary of Real Estate Assessment, 2009

The most important aspect of property taxation is the concept that all property should be valued for tax purposes on a uniform basis so that the actual property tax burden can be distributed equitably among individual property owners. One of the most widely used and accepted methods of determining relative levels and uniformity of assessments is the assessment/sales ratio study. Such a study, in its most fundamental analysis, is the comparison of the assessed value of an individual property to its sale price. For example, a property assessed at $12,000 which sold for $26,000 would have an assessment/sales ratio of 46% ($12,000 ÷ $26,000). The purpose of this study is to provide assessment/sales ratio information that may be utilized by property tax administrators, local assessing officials, and interested taxpayers in examining the relative levels and uniformity of assessments throughout the State of Iowa. After further refinement, the study is one factor considered by the Director of Revenue in the biennial equalization of assessments.

Summary of Real Estate Assessment, 2008

The most important aspect of property taxation is the concept that all property should be valued for tax purposes on a uniform basis so that the actual property tax burden can be distributed equitably among individual property owners. One of the most widely used and accepted methods of determining relative levels and uniformity of assessments is the assessment/sales ratio study. Such a study, in its most fundamental analysis, is the comparison of the assessed value of an individual property to its sale price. For example, a property assessed at $12,000 which sold for $26,000 would have an assessment/sales ratio of 46% ($12,000 ÷ $26,000). The purpose of this study is to provide assessment/sales ratio information that may be utilized by property tax administrators, local assessing officials, and interested taxpayers in examining the relative levels and uniformity of assessments throughout the State of Iowa. After further refinement, the study is one factor considered by the Director of Revenue in the biennial equalization of assessments.