Property Tax Reform Hailed as Historic

http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=28440

This year, Hoosiers will have an average property tax cut of more than 30 percent; a total of $870 million in relief will be provided. Beginning in 2010, homeowner property taxes will be capped at 1 percent of a home’s assessed value, apartments and agriculture land will be capped at 2 percent of assessed value, and business property will be capped at 3 percent of assessed value. Once fully implemented, the plan delivers $1.72 in tax cuts for each $1 of new sales tax.

Looks like a good plan to me..

closing Childrens Guardian Home in Marion County,
closing Soldiers & Sailors Childrens Home in Knightstown.
Laying off 40 firefighters and closing four fire stations
in Muncie. And, finding more ways to subsidize professional
sports teams where the millionaires can play games, Talk
about screwed up priorities, these really take the cake.

Add to that the crumbling infrastructure in our cities.

In addition, the sales tax was raised from 6 to 7%.

Township assessors were eliminated for all townships that didn't have a specific number of properties. The idea was to reduce costs. Guess what? In our county they still needed bodies to do the work so there wasn't a reduction in workers. Then they remodeled to add space to the county assessor's office that took over the job. Then they increased the pay of assessor and deputy assessors. It did not reduce costs.

They say it reduces property taxes and there is a cap of 1% for homeowners.

BUT

They removed from the property tax which will now be paid by the state:
The remaining 15 percent of school operating costs
Child welfare levies
Costs of juvenile incarceration in state facilities
State fair and forestry levies
Health care for the indigent
Pre-school special education levies
Costs of police and fire pensions


Which means that if a homeowner was at the 1% for property taxes before and the items listed above that are now removed were 50% of the 1% the local government would have room to double the property taxes. They don't have the ability to double it all at once but within time they would. IN ADDITION, property values generally go up and that provides additional increases in revenue.