Friday town hall meeting looks at ending Indiana’s property tax system
By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — Nobody likes property taxes, but one Republican state lawmaker is proposing replacing it with a 7% sales tax on services.
State Rep. J.D. Prescott, who represents parts of East Central Indiana, will hold a town hall meeting Friday night in Warsaw about his plan.
News of the meeting, which starts at 5.30 p.m. Friday at the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce office on South Buffalo Street, spread quickly online Wednesday after an online promotion began to circulate.
Prescott talked with News Now Warsaw Wednesday afternoon.
“The idea of sales tax on services has been discussed in the past and shot down quite frequently,” he said, adding that what makes his plan different is that it offers a replacement tax.
He said he believes the transition to a sales tax is workable in terms of covering expenses and he is inviting the public to learn more.
Prescott said he’s hosted about a half dozen meetings already and plans for more are in the works.
One issue that some people at the meetings have expressed concern over is the need for a larger reserve fund, which he said is necessary because sales tax revenues tend to fluctuate more compared to property taxes.
Prescott said property taxes currently generate about $11.6 billion while a 7 percent sales tax would provide about $13 million to $15 million for the state coffers.
He said some exemptions, including one for health care, would be part of the plan.
Prescott was asked whether he has the support from Republican leaders.
“I’ve had a lot of good discussions with my colleagues in the state house and the governor’s office on this,” he said. “I’ve still got a long way to go to get the votes to get this thing across the finish line.”
“I think members of the General Assembly think it’s at least worthy of discussion, he said.
The online promotion did not credit anyone directly for organizing the local meeting.
Prescott said the meeting was arranged in part by two state lawmakers — Reps. Craig Snow and David Abbott, but clarified that neither have expressed support for the plan.
Discontinuing the use of property taxes has been discussed on the fringes of mainstream political talk over the years, but has never gained any traction.
But Republican delegates at this summer’s state GOP convention added language supporting property tax elimination to the party’s policy platform, according to Indiana Capital Chronicle.
Prescott said he hopes the Republican platform plank will lead General Assembly members to take up his proposal to eliminate property taxes.
Prescott said that the current ant-tax sentiment seen across the country has created an opportunity for such a bill to gain attention.
Brian Smith, the Democrat Party’s chairman for Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District, shared a post about Friday’s meeting on Facebook that was created by a Kosciusko County Council member.
Smith called the proposal a “crazy” and “terrible” idea.
He urged people to attend and speak out.
Below is a copy of the promo circulating online.
The post Friday town hall meeting looks at ending Indiana’s property tax system appeared first on News Now Warsaw.
