Just two days after the Indiana House voted to approve an amended version of Senate Bill 1, which would provide a reduction in property taxes for Hoosier homeowners and farmland owners, Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith posted on social media page that “we can’t let this become law” and is urging Governor Mike Braun to veto the bill.
Beckwith is also asking Braun to call for a special session and “demand the legislature pass something that the average Hoosier can understand without hiring army of lawyers and accountants.”
In the version of Senate Bill 1 which passed the Indiana House on Thursday, Indiana homeowners would get up to a 10-percent deduction or a $300 maximum cap taken off your property tax bill. The legislation also phases in a larger deduction, which would eliminate the Homestead Exemption, and homeowners would get two-thirds of the value of your home deducted off of their bill.
In addition, Senate Bill 1 also included property tax relief for Indiana’s farmland owners. In calculating the accessed value for farmland, the capitalization rate increases from 8 percent to 9 percent. The bill would also phase in a one-third deduction of the assessed value of farmland deducted off.
The bill not only provides $1.4 billion in property tax relief to Hoosier homeowners over the next three years, but $140 million in savings for Indiana’s farmland owners over that same period as well.
However, the bill now allows Indiana towns and cities with populations of more than 3,500 to impose a “local income tax” of up to 1.2 percent beginning after Dec. 31, 2027 (page 196 of SB 1).
In his run for Indiana Governor last year, Braun campaigned on providing Hoosiers with property tax relief. On Thursday afternoon, he said he was looking forward to signing Senate Bill 1.
The bill still needs the final approval of the Indiana Senate before it can be sent to Braun’s office for his signature. In his role as Lt. Governor, Beckwith also serves as President of the Indiana Senate.
On Tuesday, Beckwith urged Indiana’s lawmakers to provide “real property tax reform and relief for FAMILIES and FARMERS! Anything else is completely inadequate and unacceptable!”
In addition to serving as Indiana’s Lieutenant Governor and President of the Indiana Senate and Secretary of the Indiana Department of Agriculture.
CLICK HERE to read the current version of Senate Bill 1.
