Tax increase for Indiana road funding appears unlikely
Efforts by the Indiana House to finance infrastructure improvements by raising taxes increasingly appear to be doomed during the legislative session that wraps up this week.
Efforts by the Indiana House to finance infrastructure improvements by raising taxes increasingly appear to be doomed during the legislative session that wraps up this week.
A Senate committee stripped tax increases out of a road funding bill, but the House speaker says the legislature needs to look beyond just the next election.
Planners thought most of the $53.5 million earmarked for projects would come from leasing excess space on the state’s 310 cellphone towers. But the Legislative Services Agency estimates those leases will bring $10 million to $12 million over the next 10 years.
A future 5 percent cut in Indiana's individual income tax rates is being added to a legislative proposal that would boost gasoline and cigarette taxes to increase road funding.
The condition of Indiana's roads has emerged as a major issue. There is a major division among majority Republicans over how to handle the funding, with Pence and the Senate leaders signaling they are at odds with their counterparts in the House.
Indiana's tax-amnesty program has collected enough money to pay for the new Regional Cities grant program spearheaded by Gov. Mike Pence, state officials announced Wednesday.
Businesses will pay $126 per employee to the federal government next year if the state doesn’t pay off a loan that propped up the unemployment program during the Great Recession before Nov. 10.
The Indiana governor said Friday that after the recent deadly shooting at a community college in Oregon he would make an additional $3.5 million in safety grants available.
Pence said he's supportive of discussions among lawmakers about focusing the 2017 legislative session on infrastructure.
The biggest shortfall came from corporate income taxes, which were $16.7 million—or more than 60 percent—below projections.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is deciding whether to use about $250 million of the state's surplus to provide relief to local businesses by paying off a federal unemployment loan this fall.
Figures released Thursday by the state auditor show that the state had a $210 million surplus during the budget year that ended June 30.
The City-County Council voted Monday for Indianapolis to join Carmel, Westfield and Greenwood in an economic development group seeking state funding for a rapid-transit route.
An attorney who once served as Indiana's public access counselor has been tapped as the new commissioner for the state Department of Revenue, replacing the retiring Mike Alley.
Delinquent state taxpayers will have a chance to pay up without penalty under a tax amnesty program that will take place Sept. 15 through Nov. 16.
A fast-growing city like Fishers can add thousands of new residents in just a few years. But several state funding allocations are based on population numbers the U.S. Census Bureau collects only once a decade, which could grossly underestimate the city’s density.
Ivy Tech Community College's construction plans have been put on hold and it will face a state review of its programs over concerns about low graduation rates and declining enrollment.
The bill means $460 million more for public schools and private school vouchers, plus another $20 million in extra funding for charter schools.
The new two-year state spending plan was approved by the General Assembly last week. Slightly more than half of the $31 billion budget goes toward K-12 education, with funding going up 2.3 percent each year.
Lawmakers passed bills on topics ranging from ethics reform to "religious freedom." Meanwhile, they shot down legislation that would have helped the Indy Eleven build or renovate a stadium and that would have permitted Sunday alcohol sales.