Some county leaders, Indiana Senate Democrats and a former mayor all believe that counties and cities, if allowed under the Property Tax Bill, as it is currently going for final approval, will raise their income taxes to make up for the property tax losses they will see under the bill.
The bill (SB1) is still being supported by Senate Republicans, and Gov. Mike Braun, though no longer by Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, who encouraged a veto of the bill over the weekend.
Senate Pres. Pro Tempore Rod Bray says he is hopeful the Senate will concur with the House version of the bill, perhaps as early as Monday, which would mean the current tax credit plan would become law, if signed by Braun. He said he believes it will give Hoosier homeowners relief.
Senate Minority Leader Shelli Yoder, said she believes any relief would be minor.
“Homeowners..will see a minor reduction. They’re not going to see much help or relief. They’re going to see their local income taxes raised,” she said.
Steve Dillinger, a Hamilton County commissioner, tells WISH TV’s All INdiana Politics he believes his county will have to make up for the revenue shortfall.
“If those tax dollars are cut, we’ll have to make that up somewhere,” he said. “When you have a growth county like Hamilton, you can’t cut back on services. You have to keep being progressive,” he said.
Paul Helmke, a former mayor of Ft. Wayne, who now works as an expert on local government for IU’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, said he believes counties don’t have much wiggle room.
“Local units are basically at their maximum. They’ve done everything they can to get the revenue they can to take care of our schools and pay for our firefighters and police officers,” he told WISH.
2 comments
VETO this skeevy bill. It will not reduce taxes on Hoosiers. My property tax will not go down. Other taxes will not go down. We are being lied to about this bill.
VETO IT POSTHASTE!
Just like with the federal government, I’m sick and tired of being ripped off by my state and local government.
Yeah, it seems like this bill is not what it is claimed to be.
Of course, the fact that the Democrats oppose it means it is probably good anyway.