[Southsider2k12]

I like the sentiment here, but at the sametime, I am not sure what they are looking to replace property taxes with. I would be interested to hear Chuck's ideas on how he wants to change things.

The one thing I would really like to see done is to have the system that funds local schools with local property taxes changed. All that does is reinforce socioeconomic boundaries on the next generation of kids. It ensures that rich systems stay rich, the poor systems stay poor.

http://www.michigancityin.com/articles/200.../25/news/n7.txt

Mayor talks taxes with state legislators
Mayor Chuck Oberlie met with state legislators at the Statehouse on Wednesday to explain the need to restructure the state's property tax system or allow local government an alternative means of financing property taxes.

Oberlie told legislators that even though the city had removed all general obligation bonds from the city's levy, reducing property tax collections by 13 percent, tax bills still went up.

“Many of the increases have been caused by recent state budgets,” said Oberlie. “In addition, change to the fair market assessed values has resulted in unacceptable increases.”

[Max Main]

Taxes are needed to pay for local service...what are the alternatives?

On another note, every time I hear someone kvetch about high property taxes, I remind them that the properties are high-value, and if they accept the increase in equity, they must take responsibility for the taxes on it. What these ppl want is More for Me, None for You.

[Southsider2k12]

Here are the reform suggestions.

http://www.michigancityin.com/articles/200.../29/news/n2.txt

5 components proposed for property tax reform

During their joint press conference at the City/County Building in downtown South Bend Wednesday morning, the mayors of South Bend, Mishawaka and Michigan City presented a list of five components they agreed are vital to reform property taxes.

Each fits with the Hometown Matters initiative, a plan currently sitting in General Assembly aimed at relieving the tax burden by allowing local governments the right to develop alternative taxing plans.

The plan is backed by the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns and portions of it were read Wednesday by Michigan City Mayor Chuck Oberlie, Mishawaka Mayor Jeff Rea and South Bend Mayor Steve Luecke:

1. Municipal Adoption: “A mechanism for municipal adoption should be included. If a county fails to act within a specified time frame, municipalities within that county should be able to impose a local option tax on municipal tax payers.”

2. Additional Revenue Options: “There may be communities in which other taxes could be appropriate measures for diversifying revenues. Examples of these other taxes include a sales tax on services or a food and beverage tax. We would like to make that revenue diversification available. Additional revenue options are not one size fits all. What works in one community may not necessarily work in another.”

3. Two-percent circuit breaker: “With Indiana's circuit breaker, businesses will receive large tax breaks, while most homeowners will not see any reduction in their property tax bills, but will see significant reductions in the services their municipalities are able to provide. In addition, the effective use of control boards at the county level should make the circuit breaker largely unnecessary. Therefore, we believe that the 2-percent circuit breaker should only apply to homesteads. We also believe debt service should be moved outside the circuit breaker.”

4. Sliding Scale Property Tax Relief: “Property tax relief should be required in proportion to the property tax burden borne by property tax payers. Communities with a high per capita property tax burden should be required to provide a larger measure of property tax relief than communities with a low per capita property tax burden.”

5. Distribution Formula: “The distribution formula should be based on something other than relative property tax levies. Distribution of income tax revenues on this basis rewards local governments with higher property tax levies. It would be more equitable to distribute income taxes based on per capita property tax burden, the assessed value of the local government or on the place of collection.”