Property Tax Relief On the Horizon?

From the Indy Star:

Legislators take steps toward property tax compromise
March 6, 2008

Gov. Mitch Daniels praised the proposal laid out this morning by House and Senate Republicans, saying it represented bipartisan compromise by giving more help to low income people to address concerns raised by Democrats.

“In the spirit of compromise, I’m prepared to sign this bill,” Daniels said of the GOP version of House Bill 1001. “It reflects the best thinking of both sides and a very fair, meet-in-the-middle solution that’s very much in the interests of Hoosier taxpayers.
He used strong words, though, for any lawmaker who might not support the plan.

“If this isn’t good enough for somebody, then they don’t want to cap property taxes,” he said.

The latest proposal on how to deliver property tax relief was made this morning by Senate and House Republicans, who stood together on the steps of a Statehouse staircase to support a plan that they said would deliver immediate and permanent relief to homeowners.

The proposal picks up some Democratic ideas, including raising the earned income tax credit for the working poor to 9 percent from the current 6 percent and giving additional property tax relief to senior citizens.

“I don’t think there’s a deal-breaker here at all,” said Senate President Pro Tempore David Long, R-Fort Wayne.

He and House Minority Leader Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, both said they hoped Democrats would join them in embracing the plan.

“This is not a partisan” plan, Bosma said.

(Read the rest of the Indy Star article here)

I don’t want to get my hopes up on this, but it looks like meaningful property tax relief may actually happen this session.   It may not be complete repeal, like many wanted, but I think this is the best thing we could have ever received short of repeal (which couldn’t happen anyway).  Governor Daniels will get his constitutionally added tax caps on residential property while the Democrats will get increased relief to the poor and to Senior Citizens. This looks like a win-win, but with “The Hair” in charge, nothing is for sure.

The real question for these legislators is, if this legislation passes, how many elected officials will have just saved their jobs. (Obvious answer here is, not elected assessors.)