(Radio Iowa) – State Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat running for governor, says when it comes to property taxes, he supports taxing out-of-state property owners at a higher rate than Iowa residents.

Sand’s proposal for a two-tiered property tax system for Iowans and for out-of-staters would apply to all classes of property — residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural.

The latest Iowa State University survey on farmland ownership — done back in 2022 — found about half of Iowa farmland is owned by someone who doesn’t farm. Nearly a quarter of land sold that year was purchased as an investment.

Sand made his comments during taping of the “Iowa Press” program that airs tonight (Friday) on Iowa P-B-S. Two of the top 10 individuals or companies that own Iowa farmland are based out of state. The Utah-based trust for the Mormon Church owns at least 22-thousand acres of Iowa farmland according to property records reviewed by The Cedar Rapids Gazette. A South Dakota egg company and a property management company based in Delaware each own well over 10-thousand acres of Iowa ag land.