STATEHOUSE–The property tax bill now being considered by the state Senate for possible final passage, and which was backed by Gov. Braun and Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, may not truly be satisfactory to either. Beckwith says, though, it may be a necessary step to get you true tax relief.
“There has to be steps to this. So, strategically what’s the final vision?” he asked on WIBC’s Hammer and Nigel Show Friday afternoon, after several days of negotiations and amendments to the bill.
“The governor believes that this is a good step for year one. Year two, we’re coming right back at it.”
He acknowledged that the two have been busy and have not communicated with people on the matter since Amendment 36, which Braun endorsed, was added to the bill.
Beckjwith said the bill, as is, is far away from Braun’s original vision for property tax relief. The current bill provides tax credits for Hoosier homeowners, rather than a reset to 2021 levels, before people saw huge spikes in their bills.
Beckwith said that it’s not too late to still make some changes.
“We still have two and a half weeks. I’m going to tell you right now, that’s a lifetime in this process,” he said. “So, I understand the frustration. But, don’t burn the ship to the ground until sine die, until the last day because anything could happen until the fat lady sings.”
He admitted that the bill could make taxes go up because it gives local governments the ability to raise sales taxes.
