Kurt Darling
Network Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS — Property tax increases have been something Hoosiers have been dealing with for the last couple of years.
Some Hoosiers, especially senior citizens who are retired, have been priced out of their homes due to massive increases based on the latest appraisals of their property by the state.
Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who is running for governor, told WIBC’s “Kendal and Casey Show” on Friday that he has a plan to give Hoosiers a lot of relief from rising property taxes.
“Government, at the local level, should never grow faster than the ability of a taxpayer to pay for it,” Braun said. “This is to acknowledge that (property taxes) got completely out of hand.”
Braun has released what he calls a blueprint for property tax reform in Indiana. At the core of the plan is a push to return property tax rates, as well as bills, to 2021 levels.
Furthermore, he wants to cap property taxes at no more than two percent of a home’s assessed property value for senior citizens and no more than three percent for younger homeowners.
“This is going (to be) more than just attacking a rate or the assessment,” Braun clarified. “It is the bill that everyone is interested in. This is going to take your tax bills back to that level.”
Braun’s plan would also allow homeowners to “deduct 60 percent of their home’s assessed value from their tax bill.”
Overall, he said these reforms will result in an immediate 21-percent tax cut for Hoosiers.
Finally, Braun said his plan would also help ensure more transparency when it comes to the referendum process on the local level when it comes to property tax increases. The plan would require that referendums, such as those pushed by local school boards, only take place during “high-turnout elections”.
Braun said many property tax increases are passed during low-turnout elections when transparency about them is lacking.
“Nothing is more important than ensuring Hoosiers can afford to live in their homes without being overburdened by rising property taxes,” Braun said. “My plan focuses on capping property tax increases, updating deductions, increasing transparency, and reforming the referendum process.”
