Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) spent most of his Jan. 15 speech urging lawmakers to overhaul the state’s property tax system. For the General Assembly, where Democrats control the House and Republicans control the Senate, it is the “one paramount assignment, one act for which it will be remembered,” he said.
“We must resolve to stay at it until success is achieved,” he said.
Repeating his property-tax plan first outlined to lawmakers in October, Daniels said he wants to raise the state sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent to start paying for services now funded through local property taxes such as child-welfare protection and many school-related expenses. Daniels also called for strict limits on local governments’ spending and borrowing, an overhaul of the property-assessment process and a property-tax cap for homeowners.
The governor said the changes would reduce property taxes $1.19 for each $1 in new taxes.
The proposal has met stiff resistance from local government officials, but Daniels said one of the benefits of the changes would be reducing local government.
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