Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA new gubernatorial proposal from hopeful Eric Doden takes aim at property taxes for senior Hoosiers, as unveiled in his most recent ad released on Thursday.
Doden, a businessman from Fort Wayne, pointed to the sharp percent increase in property taxes in recent years as home prices surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to an analysis by the Association of Indiana Counties and Policy Analytics, the gross assessed value of homes jumped 16.5% on average between 2022 and 2023 and property taxes increased by 18.2% on average.
“Let’s rein in property taxes and cap them for seniors. So they can stay in their own homes where they belong. That’s good for everyone, except the career politicians,” Doden said in the ad. “They’ve proven they can’t fix the problem, but I will.”
Legislators have tweaked the formula used to calculate property taxes in back-to-back sessions, but struggle to balance the interests of homeowners against the funding needs of local government units like schools.
The gubernatorial proposal from Doden zeroes in on seniors, who often live on fixed incomes and struggle to keep up with rising costs. He suggested creating a property tax relief fund for “eligible Hoosier seniors, a criteria he said would be crafted with the help of the General Assembly.
“Eric has been clear that one of his guiding principles as governor will be protecting the vulnerable. He plans to work with the General Assembly to set eligibility requirements for this credit that ensure senior homeowners are already taking a homestead deduction and their annual income would not grow sufficiently to cover the increase,” the Doden campaign told the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
The fund would freeze their payments and defer increases until the seniors sell their home or encounter another eligible “liquidity event.” He said the fund would also support local government units “to ensure priority services like police and fire protection remain fully funded until repayment is made by the homeowner.”
It is unclear how much money is in question.
In response to follow-up questions, the campaign emphasized that seniors will not be totally exempt from paying property taxes.
“This is a cap, not a full credit, so senior homeowners will still meet their current obligation, and the state would utilize the surplus to bridge the period between the implementation of the cap and the sale of the home or other qualifying liquidity event,” the campaign said.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, not-for-profit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
Out of ideas? Just pander to retirees!
Look, it’s all over. Mike Braun is going to buy himself the governorship because he’s a bored rich guy who needs the ego boost. Just don’t be surprised when he is as bad a governor as he was … a state legislator and a Senator.
65 fo 74 year olds have the greatest average wealth of any age group per the US Census. Next biggest is 75+. So he wants to cap the taxes of the wealthiest age groups without a means test, meaning everyone else has to make up for it. Your plumber and factory worker will be subsidizing the retired investment banker. But remember 65+ is the group with the highest propensity to vote, so just another scheme to buy votes with the taxpayer’s money.
average wealth means just that…average. Those with retirement nests in the millions average out against those with little but Social Security. Numbers-wise, I suspect there are more of the latter than the former.
So, it should be means-tested. And taxes don’t go away but are a lien aganst the property when it is eventually sold or transferred.
65-74 y/o’s have the highest median wealth (e.g., most prevalent) of all age groups ($410K) followed by 55-64 ($375K) and then 75+ ($336K). Building wealth takes time. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/28/americans-median-net-worth-by-age.html.
Doesn’t matter what he says
Senior citizens ought to be happy that their property taxes have increased. Most are likely to have already paid off their mortgage and therefore are not required to have property insurance. That leaves property taxes, which are capped under state law at a mere 1% of the home’s fair market value. The rise in the actual amount of property tax due is because the value of the property has risen, creating wealth that can be tapped for other needs. Politicians who pander to us seniors are taking us for doddering, old fools who need them in order to “get by.” Speaking for myself, Doden and other like him can take a hike.
Only a fool, or someone who can’t afford insurance, would skip buying property insurance. Even for those whose home is paid off, the value of the house is likely a signficant part of the person’s retirement assets, to be sold when the need arises or to fund testamentary bequests.
Tornadoes, lightning, fires…any of these could destroy the home and take away the residence of the person as well as the value of the asset.