Property tax increases have been something Hoosiers have been dealing with for the last couple of years.
Some Hoosiers, especially senior citizens who are retired, have been priced out of their homes due to massive increases based on the latest appraisals of their property by the state.
Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who is running for governor, told WIBC’s “Kendal and Casey Show” on Friday that he has a plan to give Hoosiers a lot of relief from rising property taxes.
“Government, at the local level, should never grow faster than the ability of a taxpayer to pay for it,” Braun said. “This is to acknowledge that (property taxes) got completely out of hand.”
Braun has released what he calls a blueprint for property tax reform in the state of Indiana. At the core of the plan is a push to return property tax rates, as well as bills, to 2021 levels. Furthermore, he wants to cap property taxes at no more than two-percent of a home’s assessed property value for senior citizens and no more than three-percent for younger homeowners.
“This is going more than just attacking a rate or the assessment,” Braun clarified. “It is the bill that everyone is interested in. This is going to take your tax BILLS back to that level.”
Braun’s plan would also allow homeowners to “deduct 60-percent of their home’s assessed value from their tax bill.”
Overall, he said these reforms will result in an immediate 21-percent tax cut for Hoosiers.
Finally, Braun said his plan would also help ensure more transparency when it comes to the referendum process on the local level when it comes to property tax increases. The plan would require that referendums, such as those pushed by local school boards, only take place during “high-turnout elections”. Braun said many property tax increases are passed during low-turnout elections when transparency about them is lacking.
“Nothing is more important than ensuring Hoosiers can afford to live in their homes without being overburdened by rising property taxes,” Braun said. “My plan focuses on capping property tax increases, updating deductions, increasing transparency, and reforming the referendum process.”
3 comments
Hoosiers got hoodwinked into a new scheme of property tax that has been anything but fair and reasonable. We supposed to be taxed on actual value. Instead, even without selling my house our taxes have DOUBLED in the last 10 years. Property taxes go up and up. Will they go down when the big economic collapse comes? In an economic collapse the value of my home may be cut in half or more if no one wants to buy it. Yet the value is stuck on stupid by the county assessor and the dastardly rules in state law.
Our elected leaders no longer work for The People. They work for the government flacks that actually run things. The administrative state in Hoosierville isn’t as big as the one in the DC swamp, but it is just as devastating on The People, especially retirees on fixed incomes.
IF the present system continues unabated, we will lose our home because we will not be able to pay the rent on the Royal Estate (real estate). I thought we threw off the Royal Estate back in 1776. Serfdom to the US or State government isn’t any better than being a serf under a King or Potentate.
I simply do not trust Mike Braun to fix this. Talk to those living in Jasper to get his character. For the second time in a row, I will not vote for the republican candida for governor.
P. S. 80% of the property tax goes to support and pay for the school that are failing because of the teachers union s. Get rid of that union and taxes may fall.
First of all anyone that thinks THEY OWN THEIR HOUSES have been completely deceived by the government. The gov owns all the property and we just rent it from them. You think not? Dont pay your property tax and see how long YOU OWN the property. It will be taken from you and sold, nothing you can do about it. My opinion is anyone over 65 that resides, ( not own) the property has paid for it, should get NO TAX AT ALL. What do you think folks.