Budget
Writing a new state budget for the next two years will be at the top of the legislature's to-do list during the next few months.
After several years of spending cuts, the state now has a $2 billion budget surplus.
Lawmakers will debate how to spend some of that surplus and how much to keep as a cushion in case tax revenue dips in the future.
Sen. Joe Zakas, R-Granger, said some lawmakers are nervous about whether the national economy will improve to the point where they can rely on the state's revenue forecasts.
"We don't want to spend more than we take in," he said. "We want to have an honestly balanced budget, which is probably the highest priority for those of us in the Senate and probably the House as well."
Lawmakers identified education and transportation as some of the top areas in need of state funding.
Taxes
Rep. Tim Wesco, R-Osceola, described two tax bills he has introduced this year.
The first would eliminate the state's inheritance tax, which is currently scheduled to be phased out over 10 years. "Revenues have been better than anticipated," he said, "so I think it's time to move in that direction."
The second would require the state to track how much local option income tax is collected in each Indiana county to make sure each cent is properly distributed.
Wesco said, under the current system, employers take LOIT money
out of workers' paychecks and send that money to the state government. Then the state sends it to counties based on the information in Hoosiers' state income tax returns.The problem, he said, is some people don't file a state income tax return.
"The result of that is the counties don't get the full economic benefit of what the local option income tax should have brought in," he said. "Right now our counties are very squeezed, and I want to make sure that we get all that money back to the counties."
Casinos
Sen. Jim Arnold, D-LaPorte, said the legislature likely will make some changes to Indiana's gaming laws to help casinos cope with competition from neighboring states.
Gaming taxes
are a key source of tax revenue for the state. Arnold said Indiana would be "in serious trouble" without it."We have got to protect these assets
and make sure the people who have invested millions of dollars in these casinos remain competitive," Arnold said. "Ohio's opening up new casinos now; Michigan already has some, and they're expanding; Illinois is champing at the bit to open up in Chicago, and it probably won't be too long for Kentucky."http://www.southbendtribune.com/business/sbt-3-legislative-issues-key-20130126,0,2275403.story
