20 Ways to CUT residential property taxes

Editor's note: Thanks to Brett Pittman for contributing these simple ideas. We think it sounds a whole lot like common sense! Politicians, take note!

There are twenty ways to CUT residential property taxes (RPT):

1. Mandatory IN 36-7-4-1300 IMPACT FEES on NEW CONSTRUCTION. Pay the fee in the mortgage over 15 to 30 years. Growth states such as California, Florida and Georgia collect impact fees to pay for new schools and infrastructure. New construction does not pay additional property taxes in Indiana for approximately two years.

2. Mandatory SALES TAX on NEW CONSTRUCTION. Central Indiana is the #1 most affordable housing market in the USA with five years of record-breaking sales up to 2006.

3. Increase BUILDING PERMIT FEES, WATER & SEWER TAP-ON FEES, DEVELOPMENT LICENSE FEES, etc.

4. Use ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCOME TAXES (EDIT) to offset residential property taxes. Tax revenue raised by EDIT that is given to businesses increased local income taxes by 250% in Hendricks County while growth and corporate welfare have caused residential property taxes to increase 350%.

5. Increase DIESEL FUEL TAXES, LICENSES, TOLLS and WHEEL TAXES on large, heavy trucks that destroy our roads and bridges; therefore NO property tax revenue necessary to be used for transportation infrastructure. NO privatization of toll roads needed that would be a financial burden on your children and grandchildren.

6. Elimination of TAX ABATEMENTS for retail and warehouses paying low wages whose employees (some who are illegal aliens) do not provide sufficient taxes for government services such as education, police & fire and infrastructure but do require taxpayer paid Medicaid, rent subsidies, energy assistance, food stamps, education and illegal alien law enforcement. Illegals receive these tax paid benefits.

7. Elimination of TAX INCREMENT FINANCING (TIF) and SALES TAX INCREMENT FINANCING (STIF) that deprive schools, police & fire, road & bridge repair, water & sewer upgrades, libraries and other essential government services from needed tax revenue.

8. Elimination of TIF RECOVERY on the residential property tax bills that pay for business tax cuts. This is a double tax on homeowners.

9. Elimination of ALL CORPORATE WELFARE such as SINGLE FACTOR SALES APPORTIONMENT, TAX CREDITS, TAX GRANTS, TRAINING GRANTS and ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCOME TAXES (EDIT) on family income. The best corporate welfare has only moved lower (40% less) paying Honda/Toyota jobs into Indiana to replace higher paid GM/Ford/Chrysler jobs that include better benefits. Since 1997, auto sales in the USA have averaged approximately 17 million each year. Therefore, more auto sales or jobs are not being created; and Indiana citizens' standard of living is decreasing.

10. Eliminate NON-PROFIT STATUS for institutions that do not pay property taxes such as medical care that is bankrupting American families and foreclosing on their homes because it is 16% of GDP and rising fast.

11. Use the Innkeeper tax (hotel/motel taxes), food/beverage tax and car rental tax to pay for parks, water, sewer and road repairs that tourists and guests use when they visit our state or your county instead of multi-million dollar sport facilities and private business marketing/sales expenses.

12. STOP development costs and business taxes from being SHIFTED to residential property taxpayers, to low & middle class income taxpayers and to sales taxpayers. Home Town Matters will only accelerate this shift of taxes.

13. Say NO to NEW, high density, cheap, small ground floor, vinyl housing that reduces present property values. A $250000 home is required to pay property taxes for essential government services.

14. Read the "Great American Jobs Scam, Corporate Tax Dodging and the Myth of Job Creation" book by Greg LeRoy available at http://www.greatamericanjobsscam.com, the Indiana government library in Indianapolis or your local library.

15. NO NFL tax breaks or using taxpayers’ money to pay for the Super Bowl. Use these tax savings to cut RPT.

16. Indiana has a “brain drain” problem. NO full-day kindergarten, taxpayer paid textbooks or selling/leasing the lottery are needed. Use surplus taxes to cut RPT.

17. NO $27 million tax subsidy to horse racing or the film industry. Use subsidies to cut RPT.

18. Increase taxes on tobacco, alcohol, gas guzzling vehicles and luxury goods and services. Use these taxes to cut RPT and fund medical/health insurance for the uninsured.

19. Use the 20% increase in sales taxes and gasoline taxes enacted a few years ago to cut RPT instead of cutting business property taxes. My RPT increased 19% the following year.

20. Repeal the $9000 pay increase that is automatically adjusted for inflation that the Indiana State General Assembly recently voted for themselves. Use the tax savings to cut

Contact the Governor, General Assembly state politicians and county & town politicians TODAY!
Brent Pittman
6593 Donnelly Dr.
Brownsburg 46112
317-852-4470