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From Iowa House Republicans:

This week the House passed Senate File 2366—sending the bill to the Governor. The bill makes a clarification brought to the legislature’s attention by the Utility Replacement Tax Task Force that makes sure school district funding is not harmed by special property tax breaks for wind farms.

Since 1993 Iowa Code has allowed a city council or county board of supervisors to approve a special valuation calculation for wind energy conversion property. If the special valuation calculation is approved, the property value for property tax purposes is 0.0% of net acquisition cost for the first assessment year. The property value then increases five percentage points of net acquisition cost each assessment year for the next six years. Once the percentage reaches 30.0%, the property value remains at 30.0% of net acquisition cost for the remainder of the property’s existence or until the granting body rescinds the ordinance that approved the special valuation calculation. If the ordinance is rescinded, the special valuation calculation ends after the 19th assessment year following the initial year of the special valuation calculation.

There were some wind energy owners that took that stance that replacing a blade or other maintenance that required the turbine to be “repowered” entitled them to start the special valuation over. This would of course result in a loss of revenue to the cities and counties and eventually to the schools.

Senate File 2366 provides that maintaining, refurbishing, or repowering wind energy conversion property shall not cause the wind energy conversion property to receive a new assessment schedule. You get one bite at that apple—and that is it.

The bill provides that any wind property that received a new assessment schedule prior to the retroactive applicability of this legislation would remain on that schedule, notwithstanding the restriction on repowering in the bill. In other words, a property that is repowered in 2019, assessed at 0% of the net acquisition cost in 2020, and 5% in 2021 would not immediately be increased to 30% in 2022.

The bill is now ready for the Governor’s signature.

Author: Press Release

1 COMMENT

  1. Taxpayers pay for 100% of the cost of wind turbines in Iowa according to MidAmerican Energy. Wind turbines then get a massive tax break, we pay to “re-power” them, even if they don’t need it. The “taxes” communities do get paid come out of their own pocket. After an installation goes up, homes are devalued and the community relationships are in shambles as one person who wants the money foists negative impacts of the turbines onto their neighbors.

    Wind turbines are a transfer of wealth from the lower and middle classes to the super rich just like CO2 pipelines.

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