Indiana Chamber: Constitutional tax caps a "job killer"

BY PATRICK GUINANE, Times of Northwest Indiana
pguinane@nwitimes.com

INDIANAPOLIS | The property tax caps Indiana adopted last year have been getting a lot of love from legislators and homeowners alike.

But they're a "job killer," according to the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, which released a legislative scorecard Monday lambasting the caps. The chamber reviewed Senate Joint Resolution 1, which would cement the caps into the state constitution.

"The chamber opposes amending the Indiana Constitution to effectively destroy the standard language assuring equal and uniform taxation," the chamber wrote in its scorecard. "The resolution would authorize unequal and unfair taxation by differentiating between property classifications. It also makes a farce out of the state constitution by not treating all Indiana counties alike. The resolution is premature in that its economic impact is unknown."

If passed by the General Assembly, the resolution would set up a 2010 referendum asking voters if they want to put the caps in the constitution.

The caps, starting next year, will limit tax bills to 1 percent of assessed value for homeowners, 2 percent for rental property and 3 percent for businesses. However, there are exemptions requiring Lake and St. Joseph County taxpayers to pay higher bills until 2020, while those counties reduce high debt loads.