In an email message recently sent to campaign donors seeking $50,000 by the end of the year, the Republican governor said additional tax cuts and "holding the line on spending" are needed to maintain the state's progress and keep the momentum going.
Pence has yet to announce any tax cut proposal for the Republican-controlled General Assembly to consider when it returns to the Statehouse Jan. 6 for a four-month session focused on crafting the two-year state budget.
House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, last month declared it's "time to take a breath on significant tax reform" after pushing through 14 tax cuts over the past 15 years.
Speaking with reporters following Statehood Day celebrations Thursday, Pence said the tax cuts he was referring to in his email request for campaign donations are previously enacted reductions in the individual and corporate income tax rates set to take effect in coming years.
"Our budget certainly will see to it that tax cuts that are planned are fully built within the budget," Pence said. "Taxes are going to continue to be reduced."
At the same time, Pence said he also is willing to consider additional, new tax cuts if they help businesses create jobs.
"While I don't anticipate a call for broad-based tax relief in this session, we certainly are entertaining and are open to some specific, targeted proposals that will keep our economy moving in the right direction," Pence said.
Last session, Pence ran into a wall of opposition from local government leaders when he proposed phasing out the business personal property tax, an annual assessment on business equipment that contributes more than $1 billion to schools and local governments.
The governor said he expects, even after accounting for revenue reductions due to tax cuts, the state will have additional funds next session to spend on education.
However, he said spending in the state budget as a whole will not grow more than the average inflation rate over the past 10 years -- about 2.5 percent.