Neither the sales tax base nor the property tax base is evenly distributed. This bill brings the two bases together. For the poorest districts in Iowa, the amount received from this plan will exceed the amount received from maximum bonding AND school local option taxes combined. This bill doesn't just address property tax equity. It provides more property tax equity than any legislation since the school aid formula was adopted 30 years ago.
Education is progressive.
You cannot look just at the tax. You have to look at what you're spending the money on. If you raise everyone's taxes the same dollar amount, that's regressive. But if you were to transfer all the money to low-income families, the net result would be progressive. Spending and taxation are tied together.