Statement on Property Taxes

One Southern Indiana’s Government Affairs Council recommended the following position statement on the Property Tax issue. Their position statement was ratified by the board December 13th.

The current state of our property tax system is a significant concern to our members. A recent One Southern Indiana survey of our members showed that 91% of the respondents felt the Indiana property tax system needed to be changed – click HERE to view survey. We have hosted briefings on several proposals to seek to determine which, if any of them, (or if any of their individual components) would best benefit Clark and Floyd County businesses and One Southern Indiana’s business growth goals. While we learned very quickly that many aspects of the proposals make sense, we could not at this point declare with certainty what plan or concept would best benefit our varied business membership. In fact, that same property tax survey mirrored our concern that picking one plan over another may result in unintended consequences to our businesses and local economy.

Nevertheless, we have agreed on five core points – apart and separate from the known “property tax plans” – that reflect One Southern Indiana’s business growth goals:

1. A more efficient state and local government structure can and should be achieved by strategically consolidating services.
2. Consistent with our desire for more efficient government, Indiana should substantially reform its property assessment system.
3. Consistent with the Indiana Constitution, all property must be taxed fairly and equally rather than at different rates based on use.
4. Property tax elimination or reduction is an achievable goal through fiscally responsible planning and spending restraint.
5. As a border region business association we have strong concerns over the potential adverse effects of any sales tax increase.

This statement will be conveyed to our state legislative delegation, to Gov. Daniels’ staff and to the press.