Message from Watchdog Indiana Group and patriot Aaron Smith

Note from editor: The solution below is a short term fix of a 1% cap. It is not necessarily to be construed as the perfectl solution to protect Indiana's homeowners.

The ultimate solution is repeal, for as long as property tax exists, the government can take your home. This solution, while an improvement, still allows the government to assess your property for any amount they want. That means if you buy a house, rehab it, and work hard for years to make it wonderful, the government can decide it is worth more than you can afford and tax you out of it.

When property tax is repealed, Hoosiers will have a lot more disposable income. That income will be spent on stuff. Stuff = sales tax for the government. Hoosiers will also spend money improving their property instead of letting their property maintenance go to pay tax instead. When we improve our properties, contractors get hired. Contractors working = income tax.

The bottom line is that property tax repeal is good for everyone...the People and her government because of the additional money that is circulated in our economy and the restrictions it ultimately will place on excessive government spending.


Watchdog Indiana focuses on the state and local tax burden of Hoosier working Families.

YOU MUST ACT NOW!

Please send an E-mail to Indiana House Ways and Means Committee Chairman William A. Crawford (H98@in.gov) and ask him to allow a committee vote on Senate Joint Resolution 1.
SJR 1 includes a constitutional amendment that permanently caps any homeowner property tax at 1% of assessed value. Detailed information on SJR 1 can be found here.

The number one problem the General Assembly needs to solve this session is the legacy of failure where (1) we suffer permanent tax increases for temporary property tax relief and (2) property tax caps disappear. The foundation for genuine property tax relief is a constitutional amendment for a 1% cap on our property taxes that would let us know the maximum property tax we will have to pay on our homes. The 1% cap would provide reassurance that property taxes will be less likely to become an unaffordable burden that could force us out of our homes.

Even those who favor property tax elimination - including Watchdog Indiana with its endorsement of the Jeff Thompson Property Tax Reform Plan in House Bill 1338 - need to face political reality and support a constitutional amendment for a 1% homeowner property tax cap as a necessary first step for sweeping property tax reform.

The Ways and Means Committee recently held three public hearings on SJR 1. These public hearings did a good job of pinpointing the property tax revenue shortfalls that schools and local governments can expect from a constitutional amendment for a 1% homeowner property tax cap. The importance of imposing the county option income tax in House Bill 1001 for revenue replacement was appropriately emphasized.

Chairman Crawford promised a February 13 vote on SJR 1. He has since reneged on his promise and there is no indication when, or even if, he will allow a committee vote on SJR 1. Opponents of meaningful property tax relief will likely prevail if there is no SJR 1 committee vote THIS WEEK.

Watchdog Indiana provides information that is easy to understand about the revenues, spending, and long-term debt assumption of Indiana local and state governments. An online community is established where Hoosier working families come together to help control government growth by focusing on the state and local tax burden. Watchdog Indiana was established November 14, 2001, and is non-party, non-connected, and non-profit. The

Watchdog Indiana website

This is Watchdog Indiana E-mail Update #97-021908, and it was sent to 13,518 Hoosiers in 52 counties.

Happy Trails
Aaron Smith