Property tax relief legislation got a lot more complicated Thursday as a House committee tried to soften the blow such relief would have on local government and school budgets.
The original proposal in HB 1499 was simple: create an additional homestead tax credit and reduce the cap on how much homeowners have to pay on their property taxes for a few years.
Join the conversation and sign up for the Indiana Two-Way. Text "Indiana" to 73224. Your comments and questions in response to our weekly text help us find the answers you need on statewide issues throughout the legislative session. And follow along with our bill tracker.
The latest proposal is anything but simple. That additional homestead tax credit is gone. The reduction in the property tax cap is cut in half. The bill increases the homeowners and renters deductions on Hoosiers’ income taxes by $1,000 each. Local governments have a new option to create their own property tax relief.
“This thing has lots of moving parts," said Rep. Jeff Thompson (R-Lizton), the bill's author. "I consider none of them real, real drastic; some may.”
It’s not yet clear how much the average homeowner would save under the new proposal. And it’s not also not yet clear how much the plan would cost local governments and schools.
The bill next heads to the House floor for further work.
Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.