Committee Moves Business Tax, Transit Bills Forward
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe House Ways and Means Committee has approved Senate bills involving central Indiana mass transit and business taxes. The measures now move on to the full House. Ways and Means did recommend some changes to Senate Bill 1, which offers a plan involving the state's business personal property tax. The House also has its own bill concerning the tax.
A group of mayors from throughout the state has spoken out against the idea, which has been championed by Governor Mike Pence. They argue it would put too much strain on local governments to make up lost funding.
Those in favor say it would remove an economic development and job creation barrier.
You can view SB1 by clicking here.
Senate Bill 176, which passed the committee without amendments, would allow a number of counties in central Indiana to put expansion or upgrades to mass public transit up for referendum.
You can view SB176 by clicking here.
Source: The Indiana General Assembly
February 25, 2014
News Release
STATEHOUSE – Senate Bill (SB) 1, sponsored by Chairman of Ways and Means Tim Brown (R-Crawfordsville), was amended in Ways and Means this morning and passed out of committee with a vote of 11 to 5.
The amended bill is geared towards making Indiana and its local communities as competitive as possible in attracting new jobs and new business investment to the state. The bill was amended to give each county the opportunity to decide whether to exempt new investments on business equipment from the personal property tax.
The ability to enact a complete exemption, rather than case-by-case tax abatements, could prove to be a powerful economic development tool.
“House Republicans believe that communities should have the ability to choose for themselves whether the elimination of this tax on capital investment is the right decision for their county and its residents,” said Chairman Brown. “We want local governments to have more freedom and the ability to attract companies so more Hoosiers can find rewarding employment opportunities.”
The following changes were also made to SB 1, including:
-An extension of the maximum tax abatement period for qualified personal property from 10 years to 25 years and a requirement that the local governing body hold a public hearing to review the abatement in year 10 of the abatement period and every five years thereafter;
-A reduction of the corporate income and financial institutions tax rates being extended over a longer timeline, both being phased down to 4.9 percent by 2023;
-Restoring the research and development expense tax credit to its original form;
-Appointing a school representative to be a member of the Commission on Business Personal Property and Business Taxation;
-The removal of a tax exemption for filers whose personal property has a federal book value of under $25K; and
-Reinstating the full value of the college contribution tax credit.
“Indiana has made incredible strides in recent years in improving the state's business climate, but we cannot stand still if we want to continue to drive economic growth. Lower taxes are a proven incentive of business investment, and fortunately our unwavering commitment to fiscal discipline has made these policy choices possible,” said Chairman Brown.
Chairman Tim Brown (R-Crawfordsville) represents portions of Tippecanoe, Montgomery and Boone counties.
Source: Indiana House of Representatives Republican Caucus