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| Indiana homeowners should not worry over taxes, says attorney |
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By ANN HINCH
Assistant Editor
NEW CASTLE, Ind. — Upon paying off one’s mortgage, a property owner ought not worry about losing their home or business because of unpaid taxes – this is the message behind Indianapolis attorney Eric Miller’s appeal to Indiana residents to back a constitutional amendment to repeal property taxes.
Miller’s 27-year-old nonpartisan watchdog organization, Advance America (AA), spent the latter half of September conducting rallies through Indiana to gather support for two actions toward his proposal for tax relief. The first is a general call for voters to demand the General Assembly to make possible a statewide referendum to enact a constitutional amendment repealing real property taxes.
The second is to pressure Gov. Mitch Daniels to call a special session of the Assembly in 2007 to provide immediate property tax relief. Miller said the state is planning to refund an average of $237 to each Indiana property owner next year, but with a special session and a majority vote, he explained this could be turned into a tax credit for this year.
“We’ve got a property tax crisis because the government spends too much of your hard-earned money,” he told approximately 200 people who showed up for his New Castle rally on Sept. 15.
Miller spent an hour giving an historic overview of property taxes in Indiana and telling stories about property owners on limited incomes who have told him about their struggle to keep up with rising local tax bills. He railed about legislatures that have made promises to lower property taxes in order to enact other kinds of taxes, only to have successive lawmakers raise the property taxes again.
Miller asked his audience to support the permanent measure of a repeal amendment, which he said would abolish property taxes as well as the governmental offices and cost of collecting said taxes, the latter of which he said was possibly as much as $250 million annually in Indiana.
“It’s your money they’re spending; you ought to have the right to vote on it,” he said of pushing for a public referendum to change the state constitution, rather than trusting the legislature to permanently abolish it.
To replace the revenue lost – approximately $6.1 billion a year to operate local government and schools, according to state Sen. Beverly Gard (R-Greenfield) – Miller proposes better controlling state and local government spending increases, and raising income taxes by one percent and sales tax by two percent, as well as including an unspecified amount paid by businesses.
In just a decade, Miller predicts Indiana property owners’ taxes will double; by 2027, he foresees a fourfold increase. Yorktown farmer Mike Blanch, 68, who attended the rally to support Miller, estimates taxes on his 140-acre corn and bean farm have increased 10-15 percent over the past few years.
But he’s heard stories about doubled and even tripled tax bills, including a business owner who said his property tax is rising from $8,000 last year to $21,000 this year.
“You’re putting people out of business; they can’t make that much more money,” he said. “In 10 years, none of us are going to be able to afford anything.”
Blanch, who has been working in Delaware County for two years to raise awareness of how local taxes are spent – especially on school construction and not as much on instruction as he would like – said approximately 60 percent of property taxes go to schools. He believes property owners are penalized by having to pay taxes for services everyone – notably those who don’t own property – receives.
Increased sales and income taxes to abolish the property tax sounds good to him.
“I think that’s probably the most fair way,” he said. “It takes the burden off one group and puts it on everyone.”
As for increased sales tax driving Indiana residents into other states for purchases, he said, “I don’t think that’ll happen; a penny on the dollar doesn’t amount to much.”
Miller said since state government usually offers property tax abatements to attract new businesses, if there were no property taxes in Indiana, businesses would never have to worry about paying and would, therefore, be more likely to move here and create more jobs. Property owners could add on to homes and businesses without paying an extra assessment, employing the construction industry. And – perhaps of most concern given recent news about the sub-prime market and banking – property owners wouldn’t have to worry as much about foreclosure.
“There is no disadvantage to getting rid of property taxes,” Miller said.
He urged voters to put up yard signs advertising AA’s website to spread information ($10 each), to collect signatures to petition state government for a referendum and the governor for a special session, to donate to his organization and to tell others about its goals and get them involved.
“You ought to get the letters, you ought to get the e-mails, you ought to answer the phones” that AA receives every day from property owners – especially senior citizens – Miller said. They are worried about losing their homes, and many are on fixed incomes.
Like many seniors, Blanch has owned the same house for decades. In 1964, his property taxes were $12; this year, they are $1,200. He now rents out that house and admitted $1,200 doesn’t seem like much, but it’s the principle of a thousandfold increase over 43 years.
“We elect people to do things for us, and they’re not doing them,” he said.
To learn more about AA, visit its website at www.advanceamerica.com and to read more about his repeal plan, visit www.repealpropertytaxes.com |
| 10/3/2007 |
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