Brad Sherman, a Republican candidate for governor and former Iowa House Representative, says he’d love to see property taxes eliminated, but Sherman says raising the state sales tax or using the state income tax are the only other ways to pay for police, fire departments and other essential services. Sherman warns it would take a big sales tax hike to make the switch and he’s wary of setting up the centralized system that would be required to distribute the revenue to cities and counties. Sherman is proposing eliminating the property tax for people who are 60 or 65 who’ve lived in Iowa and live in their own home. Sherman says that would require only a small sales tax increase and might end up paying for itself if more people stay in Iowa rather than retire elsewhere.
