EDITORIAL: Give property tax law time to reveal its full effect

The Journal Gazette

Property tax changes wrought by the Indiana General Assembly's House Enrolled Act 1001 have so far produced big savings for most homeowners and big headaches for schools and local units of government trying to cope with revenue shortfalls. Tax experts predict those headaches will grow worse when the legislation's circuit-breaker provisions go fully into effect in 2010.

For now there's a safety switch - if property tax revenues don't produce enough to provide basic services and public outcry results, lawmakers can fix the problem. But the constitutional amendment Gov. Mitch Daniels is seeking to make the tax caps permanent will leave cities, towns, school districts and other taxing units with few alternatives for serving their constituents. And the hard-won efforts to improve the business tax climate in Indiana will be at risk - this time with constitutional protection for unequal treatment.