STATEHOUSE - House Democrats ran out on permanent property tax relief today before the Caps Clock did, Rep. Jacque Clements (R-Frankfurt) said. Today was the deadline for the third reading of bills in the House. House Democrats voted to adjourn until Monday. Unfortunately, Tax Day came and went without Hoosier taxpayers getting their wish for permanent constitutional property tax protection. According to a poll taken earlier this month by Public Opinion Strategies, almost three-quarters of Hoosiers support the permanent constitutional property tax caps. Political leanings are irrelevant, the poll showed: 66 percent of Democrats support the caps, 72 percent of independents support them and more than 80 percent of Republicans would like the caps adopted. "The Indiana General Assembly comes together each year with elected officials, whose jobs are to voice the opinions of the Hoosiers they represent," said Rep. Clements. "Hoosier taxpayers have spoken - and they want to vote on the property taxes. "The Speaker Bauer has, once again, ignored their call." If the House had passed Senate Joint Resolution 1, already passed by a bipartisan majority of the Senate, Hoosier voters would have had the opportunity in 2010 to vote on whether to permanently include the caps in the Indiana Constitution. The property tax caps would limit bills to 1 percent of the property's assessed value for homesteads, 2 percent for residential rental property and farmland and 3 percent for other business property. Without permanent property tax caps, Hoosiers lose the stability and certainty of knowing their taxes have a limit. Businesses do not have the predictability they need to plan budgets. Local governments do not have the incentive to find money-saving efficiencies in their operations. The House must complete its work before the April 29 statutory deadline.
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