Hunter
06/05/25
Iowa City residents will see a one percent local option sales tax initiative on the ballot in the fall general election.
The Gazette reports that if the tax gets majority approval by the voters, it would raise as much as $8 to $10 million. The City Council says at least 50 percent of the tax revenue would be used towards property tax relief, but haven’t detailed what they would do with the rest of the money. Proposals include using the funds for a mix of housing initiatives, public facility improvements, and support for area nonprofit organizations.
Swisher, Lone Tree, Hills, Tiffin and University Heights voters have already passed local-option sales tax programs over the last decade. Iowa City and Ankeny are the only two Iowa cities with 50,000 or more people who currently don’t have local option sales tax.
Council members say the tax is necessary because of changes at the state level that include phasing out the “backfill” that previously covered property tax rollback revenue decreases.