| Start Date: | 4/30/2007 | All Day | | | End Date: | 4/30/2007 | | |
(Statehouse) April 29, 2007- Late tonight, State Representative Woody Burton (R-Greenwood) and the Indiana General Assembly completed the 2007 legislative session. The House spent the last day of session working on the final version of the state's biennial budget. Burton voted against the resulting budget that passed the House with a party-line vote of 51-49. The most immediately crucial issue to be addressed before today's adjournment was property tax relief. Legislators have studied the upcoming property tax cycle and discovered that trending values, reduced replacement credits, increased local property investment, and the final stage of the inventory tax elimination will combine to negatively affect Hoosier property owners this year. "Property tax relief is one of the legislative issues that I have been most concerned about," said Burton. "The budget passed by the Democrat-controlled House forces Hoosiers to pay the approximately 24 percent increase in their property taxes and then send them a rebate check sometime in the fall. "Some of these Hoosiers are running 'mom and pop' operations, working on small retirement projects, fixing up homes and renting them out. These people will get no property tax relief for their rental properties. They will have to raise rent to cover their bills, which could lead to foreclosures. "Although the budget provides some property tax relief, it does not provide enough," he continued. "The only way to eliminate the burden of property taxes is to, quite simply, eliminate property taxes. Earlier this year, I introduced a measure that would have permanently repealed property taxes by 2012. Unfortunately, the bill did not succeed, but I will continue my fight toward repealing property taxes in Indiana. "In all my years as a legislator, this is by far the worst property tax package I have ever seen. I want to apologize to the people of Indiana for not being able to provide true property tax reform. Frankly, I am embarrassed by this property tax package." Burton will address other legislative issues addressed in the 2007 legislative session in the coming weeks. For more information, please contact State Representative Woody Burton at the Statehouse, 200 W. Washington St., Room 401, Indianapolis, IN 46204, 1-800-382-9841, h58@in.gov. -30-
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