INDIANAPOLIS | No matter what any candidate running for office may say about his or her race, a simple yes-or-no question could turn out to be the most significant line on Tuesday's ballot in determining Indiana's future.
The question: "Shall property taxes be limited for all classes of property by amending the constitution of the state of Indiana?"
State law currently caps property tax rates at 1 percent of assessed value for owner-occupied homes, 2 percent for rental property and farmland, and 3 percent for business and industrial property.
Proponents of the tax caps amendment, including Gov. Mitch Daniels, say the tax caps must be added to the state's constitution to prevent a future governor and General Assembly from changing the rates. They'll still be changeable, but it would take the approval of two consecutive General Assemblies and Hoosier voters to do so, an all but insurmountable barrier to change.
A yes vote, Daniels said earlier this month, means "we will have finally certainty and permanence" in property tax rates.
But even if the tax caps amendment is voted down, the 1-2-3 caps will remain state law and aren't likely to change any time soon.
In fact, the effects of the existing caps, just now beginning to be seen -- dwindling government services, more fees, a higher state sales tax, potentially higher local income taxes -- should make Hoosiers stop and think before voting to make the caps permanent, says the Coalition of Community Partners, a group that includes the PTA, Indiana Library Federation, Indiana Urban Schools Association, Association of Indiana Counties and others.
"Everyone is going to be affected in some way. We just want them to know what the way is going to be, so when they go and vote they know that," said Nichole Thomas, spokeswoman for the Indiana PTA.
Public opinion polls suggest the caps will be approved by a wide margin, satisfying the governor and other proponents of the amendment. But opponents insist there's no need to rush the caps into to the constitution.