By Patrick Guinane, Times of Northwest Indiana
patrick.guinane@nwi.com
INDIANAPOLIS | A legislative bailout for the agency that runs Indianapolis' pro sports stadiums could have region mayors raising their glasses while regular Hoosiers cry in their beers.
That's because a doubling of state liquor taxes is a key part of a proposal aimed at erasing a more than $30 million deficit amassed by the Indianapolis Capital Improvement Board, which oversees Conseco Fieldhouse and Lucas Oil Stadium.
The proposal would raise the cost of a 12-ounce beer by just over a penny, tack on 9.3 cents to a bottle of wine and raise 2 cents on every shot of hard alcohol. It translates to 25 cents more on a case of beer or 53 cents on a fifth of booze.
To dull the pain of what would be Indiana's first liquor tax hike since 1981, lawmakers would let cities and towns outside of Indianapolis keep their share of the higher taxes for unspecified economic development efforts. The move could mean $4.6 million annually for the 19 municipalities in Lake County and $894,500 for Porter County.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Luke Kenley, who has spent the past few weeks in closed-door negotiations with officials from the Indiana Pacers, Indianapolis Colts and the city, likened the distributions to a stimulus package. But he also acknowledged the underlying political calculations.
"We need to get votes to pass this in the Legislature," Kenley, R-Noblesville, said Wednesday. "We always have the territorial concerns of different areas of the state. In some cases, it can be strong as to say it's the Indianapolis (supporters) versus the anti-Indianapolis, or the out-state people."
The plan, to be heard in Kenley's committee this morning, also calls for raising Indianapolis' taxes on hotel rooms, restaurant tabs and stadium tickets. The Colts are being asked to contribute $5 million more annually, while the Pacers are expected to exercise a contract clause that could cut the floundering club's stadium costs by at least $10 million a year.
The proposed stadiums bailout, in part created by poor management, comes while Republicans, including Gov. Mitch Daniels, have challenged Gary and other region cities to cut spending.
State lawmakers working toward a financial bailout of the agency that runs Indianapolis' pro sports stadium want to double the per-gallon taxes paid by liquor distributors and passed onto customers. The per-gallon (128 ounces) taxes would rise to $5.36 for hard alcohol, 94 cents for wine and 23 cents for beer, all of which would be higher than Illinois.
Outside of Indianapolis, the $42 million tax hike would go to cities and towns to fund economic development. Approximately $8 million of that sum would go to stadium operations.