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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowDespite being a top priority for new Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, Republican leaders in the General Assembly seem to be taking a more cautious approach to new state tax relief in budget discussions.
“I really appreciate the governor kind of leaning in and and, you know, he wants to do more with less. He wants to make sure Hoosiers keep more of their money,” said House Speaker Todd Huston.
But he pointed to an existing income tax phase-down already in law as a priority and noted some agencies—such as the Department of Child Services—that will need additional funding. The state’s income tax will continue to fall over the next two years, hitting a low of 2.9% in 2027.
Another bill would extend the gradually falling rate so long as the state’s economic conditions hold steady.
“We’re going to be cautious. I mean really, really cautious … there’s a lot of uncertainties right now,” said Huston, R-Fishers. “It’s challenging and probably a little less frills, more vanilla.”
In contrast to the flush budgets during COVID-19, when federal funds and high spending buoyed state revenues, the next two-year cycle will be much leaner—with discussions centered around warring priorities. With less than one month as the state’s top leader, Braun has vowed to usher in a new era of austerity, curbing agency spending while simultaneously granting widespread tax relief.
In addition to a property tax proposal that could save Hoosiers more than $1 billion collectively, his budget includes several income tax relief proposals:
- Inflation-adjusted income tax deductions
- Eliminating the tax on retirement income
- Stopping the tax on tips
- A farming tax credit
- Instituting sales tax holidays for school supplies and outdoor equipment.
The cuts would reduce state tax revenue by $696 million over the two years of the budget. To pay for that, Braun reduced various categories of state agency spending.
Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray called Braun’s budget “aspirational,” and said he appreciated the leadership.
“There are challenges. DCS continues to be a challenge,” said the Martinsville Republican.
Bray said the DCS budget had to be augmented to finish out this fiscal year and that might have to continue in the next two years.
“And so those types of things are going to make it hard to accommodate those tax cuts. We’d love to be able to do it, but there are some challenges with that,” he said.
Huston, who has played a role in crafting four previous budgets, said this budget was the “most challenging.” While the first year has some moderate revenue growth, the second budget year has almost no additional dollars coming into state coffers—even as Medicaid and other expenses continue to grow.
Additionally, the new Trump administration in Washington D.C. is adding uncertainty, as large portions of the state’s budget depends on dollars flowing from federal coffers. Changes to Medicaid or education funding, for example, would have a large impact on how the state delivers on its promised services.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
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What is the evidence of the governor wanting to do more with less and not just being a grump who wants to pay less in taxes, consequences be damned, because he will statistically not be around long enough to deal with the impact?
As alluded to in the article, the instability of the Trump administration should put either tax increases on the table or force the state to provide … clarity on what will be cut when federal funding gets yanked away illegally.
How about a thorough audit of State spending at every level? That would probably scare a lot of people and, provide the needed additional revenue.
I have an idea…let’s do a thorough state audit of tax filings, and see what that gains us…maybe we’ll find a few thousand wealthy tax payers who have been sliding by on their filings because netither the state nor the federal government do proper audits…
By placing personal expenses as business expenses to avoid the extra income tax?
“To pay for that, Braun reduced various categories of state agency spending.“
Less property taxes means less for teachers, and that is by design.
Property taxes do not fund teacher salaries. The state funds the teacher salaries. Apparently, you don’t listen to Rob Kendall and Casey in the mornings! Property taxes funds things like the outlandishly expensive swimming pools recently build in Brownsburg, Carmel, and Lawrence Township.
And Michael, where are property values the highest in the metro area? Which schools are considered the best? Do you think the two things are unrelated?
People in Brownsburg, Carmel, and Lawrence Township actually vote for these things because they know keeping the schools first class keeps their property values up.
Chris is correct. There’s a reason that the state is clamping down on voter referendums for school funding, the voters aren’t voting the way that legislators desire. They keep voting for nicer schools and the voters keep increasing the gap between the have’s and the have not’s.
Rob Kendall? Apparently didn’t learn anything from his time on the Brownsburg town council …
More audits, more transparency. Less lip service.
This is the best they can offer and we should take that seriously.
Glad there’s some relatively pragmatic people in Legislature leadership, and not parroting federal GOP talking points. “no tax on tips” as a priority? uggh. that’s not leadership, that’s following the crowd – this is too soon for him, coming directly out of Congress.
Rising Property Values Creating Unsustainable Tax Burden
North side homeowners are facing a looming crisis that threatens both their financial stability and our community’s economic health. Over the past several years, inflation has driven home values up by $300,000 to $400,000 in many cases. While this might sound positive, it’s creating serious challenges as assessors gradually incorporate these increases into tax bills.
Even with the 1% property tax cap implemented under Mitch Daniels, homeowners are facing annual property tax increases of $1,000 as assessors raise valuations by $100,000 each year. While many families managed to absorb the first year’s increase, the cumulative effect of these rising taxes is becoming untenable, especially since wages aren’t keeping pace.
If this trend continues unchecked, we risk setting off a chain reaction that could destabilize our entire community. Homeowners may be forced to sell, potentially flooding the market. When distressed sales occur, assessors often dismiss them as “invalid” when homeowners try to use them to appeal their valuations, yet these same figures appear in real estate comparables.
The ripple effects could be severe. As households redirect more money toward property taxes, local businesses—particularly restaurants—will see decreased patronage. Moreover, national rental companies may exploit this situation by purchasing these properties, potentially leading to higher rents throughout the area.
Our elected officials must address this growing crisis before it undermines our community’s stability. We need meaningful property tax reform that protects both homeowners and our local economy. The current trajectory is unsustainable, and the time for action is now.
If you live in a neighborhood where home values are going up by hundreds of thousands of dollars, then you are gaining hundreds of thousands of dollars in net worth.
If you can’t afford to pay the taxes, then sell and buy something smaller and cheaper and invest your capital gains. Or open a HELOC to pay taxes if you want to stay.
Huston points to the Department of Child Services as a reason not to lower property taxes. Property taxes do not fund that department so that is a ridiculous reason sited to not offer property tax relief. Many taxpayers such as myself and millions of others are sick and tired of property taxes going to build sport arenas for private enterprise, hotels in downtown Carmel and Indianapolis for private entities, 55-million-dollar swimming pools and other expensive athletic facilities in our local schools, and outlandish salaries for people in administrative positions while the boots on the ground continue to be underpaid. Most of all the practice of passing out property tax deferments to private business to build in their community! If Indiana is such a great and business friendly place to do business and build your facilities, why does every proposed project get a property tax break? All at the expense of properly funding local schools, first responders, etc.
Hoosier voters vote for school boards too. Based on the extremely high number of elected officials that cruise to re-election, people are not nearly are tired of how things are going … than you claim.
The reality is that Indiana is hollowing out. The only places that people want to live are around the big cities. That’s because they’re investing in schools, they’ve investing in infrastructure. Why are Carmel house prices so high? Because everyone wants to live there!
The rest of Indiana? Houses are cheap because no one wants to live there. No one wants a long commute every day to their job from a cheap house in a school district that’s mediocre. Harsh but that’s the reality. Lots of legislators see “the big city” and they’re jealous and they’re tired of their kids and constituents moving away.
You want to get rid of TIF’s? Do that separate from slashing property taxes everywhere and muttering “figure it out”. If Braun had run on a plan to cut every school budget by millions, this wouldn’t be the discussion. But he ran on a very general proposal, so he deserves the criticism.