Cities wary of tax cut plan, despite promises

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Officials in some of Iowa’s biggest cities say they’re skeptical about Gov. Terry Branstad’s plan to cut commercial property taxes by 40 percent.

Although the governor says cities would be protected from a big drop in tax revenue, local officials say they worry promises might not be kept or could be broken in the future.

If commercial property taxes were cut without increasing state aid, Des Moines could see a $28 million drop in annual revenue and Cedar Rapids would receive about $15 million less.

City officials also doubt that reducing commercial taxes would draw much additional business to cities. They argue that adequate city services are more important than tax rates, which they say overall are fairly low.