If you did not hear Mitch Daniels speech on Tuesday October 23rd, here are the highlights.

1. Property taxes would be capped at 1%
2. Adding 1 % to the sales tax
3. State would take over 3.1 million in school and child welfare taxes
4. State would eliminate a 2 million dollar tax credit that it gives to local governments
5. Eliminate the majority of state assessors

OK… So what does it really mean.

1. The timing of this announcement could not have been worse for Ballard and his supporters. Just like Bart Peterson and the stadium deal, here comes Mitch to the rescue.  Mitch could have easily waited till after the election to announce this.  I guarantee that you will hear Bart supporting this on the next debate.
2. What happens in 2007?  No one knows yet but from what I surmise, we will be receiving 3 tax bills this year.  It sounds like a catch up amount that will be due on April 15th 2008.  

I must say, the 1% cap does sound attractive to me.  My personal tax bill would be more than cut in 1/2 compared to the last assessment.  But what do we do with the 2007 balance?  I will not pay the 3rd bill.  At least not right away.  In fact, I would like to see everyone abstain from paying that last bill.  The more the merrier.In regards to the Ballard campaign, just like Daniels, there are a number of things that Bart has done that are good, it’s just that now all of his taxes have come back to bite him.  Without this whole “tax issue” going on, not only would Bart win by a land slide, but Ballard would not even be running.  Although he is not saying it publicly, Micth appears to be supporting Bart instead of his own candidate.Here are a few of the questions I still have.

1. Why did it take this tax crisis to figure out that we don’t need 1100 assesors?
2. Why didn’t Bart pull the plug one bringing home cars 8 years ago, saving 45 million dollars along the way?
3. I have so many issues with the school system.  Why are costs so much higher today when the enrollment is less than 1/2 of what it was 20 years ago?  Why are the school building funds and salary funds separate?  As I understand it, the building funds must be spent every year or they are lost? 
4. Bart… you raised taxes to be tough on crime, 90 million to be exact.  Of that 90 million, less than 12 million is for new officers on the street.  Here is the PDF breakdown.  85% of these monies is for administration BS.

Whats next…  Well if you listen to idiots like Bauer, he has already made the point that the legislature will want to put their stamp on Daniels proposal.  What does this mean?  It means adding a bunch of pork and crap that help benefit each politicians constituents.  I would also say…. GET RID OF THEM ALL!!!  They screwed things up… They knew they were doing it when they did it… and they no longer deserve our trust.  I will shortly post a list of the incumbents.  If you have this list please forward it in a comment.

The Voice

By looking at this article on Yahoo, the future does not look very good for Indianapolis home sales.   The article discusses how US home prices fell by 3.2 percent in the 2nd quarter of 2007.

What is the best thing lawmakers can do to twart this outcome?  REPEAL PROPERTY TAXES!!!  Since the Indianapolis tax hike of 2004, I believe my home value has gone down by 10 to 15 percent.  If the new tax structure is ever implemented, my home value will decrease by another 15 to 20 percent.  However, if we were to repeal property taxes, I truly believe that my home value would go back up to 2003 levels and possibly even exceed those values.

Please continue the fight to REPEAL INDIANA RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY TAXES!!!

The Marion County Treasurer’s Office says there are four major reasons why you may be paying more this time. One is the assessed value of your property is higher. Another is that the old business inventory tax has now been shifted onto property owners. The third reason is that the county owes $48 million this year on the state child welfare program and finally, the state tax credit dropped from 28 percent to 20 percent.

Two articles in today’s paper (7/7/7) under one headline:  “Home values, sales could take a hit.”

One story concerns a demand by two Indianapolis state senators for an investigation of the property tax situation which may apparently actually increase the city’s homeless population.

In this article the mayor is said to be asking for a special session of the General Assembly “on the property tax issues.”  Relying on precedent, we assume this can only mean he wants the state to give him the authority for more and larger tax increases, or he wants the state simply to take over some governmental functions historically handled by the city.  He would, of course, also like to continue to consolidation of some other functions to increase the tremendous savings resulting from the more efficient operation of the combined police and sheriff’s departments.  (A little sarcasm there.)

We make these assumptions based on the fact that it is almost certain he does not need legislative approval to cut budgets - the CIB? - or to change policies (more…)

The local branch of an organization called Americans for Fair Taxation is hosting a plea to the Governor at his mansion on 4th of July morning at 10:30am. Residents of Indianapolis who have seen their taxes rise too dramatically over the last few years are invited to join the rally to plead our case. News media will be on hand, so prepare short sound bites (15-30 seconds of a hard-hitting message) in case your are interviewed.

The governor’s mansion is at 46th and Meridian.
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- This is one protest of what is likely to be many. i just found out that my ex’s house in Butler Tarkington received an increase of 285%, from around 2600 to nearly 7500. This is on top of a doubling, from 1250 to 2600, during the last round of property tax increases a few years ago. Others are seeing even worse. This increase, coupled with Bart Peterson’s proposed doubling of the city’s income tax, is a further nail in the coffin of middle class Hoosiers.

- In the current (depressed) housing market, this induces absolute paralysis for both buyers and sellers.

- Both Bart and Mitch are now vulnerable to electoral challengers, IMHO, even though they are both running against little-knowns.

- What will happen next? Maybe we can all get our tax bills commuted by the White House…

Our position: Perhaps it’s time for residents to hire a high-powered lobbyist to represent their interests.

Listen carefully this weekend and you’ll hear more than fireworks going off across the state.

You’ll hear the sounds of angry homeowners reacting to their new property tax bills.

It’s grim news, with increases expected to climb well into double digits in some parts of Marion County. In Marion County’s Washington Township residents, for example, will face extremely high increases (more…)

California Proposition 13 (1978)

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Proposition 13, officially titled the “People’s Initiative to Limit Property Taxation,” was a ballot initiative to amend the constitution of the state of California. The initiative was enacted by the voters of California on June 6, 1978. It would eventually be upheld as constitutional by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Nordlinger v. Hahn, 505 U.S. 1 (1992). Proposition 13 is embodied in Article 13A of the California Constitution.

The most significant portion of the act is the first paragraph, which capped real estate taxes:

The proposition’s passage resulted in a cap on property tax rates in the state, reducing them by an average of 57%. (more…)

This is so wrong… How can this be legal???  This is like stealing.

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