Excerpts of the Commission's Report follow:
II. INTRODUCTION AND REASONS FOR STUDY
The Legislative Council assigned topics of study outlined above to the Commission that had been requested by a legislator in a bill or resolution considered in the 2013 session of the General Assembly. (Note: The tax credit review was requested in a bill enacted in the 2012 session of the General Assembly.)
In addition to the topics of study assigned by the Legislative Council, the Commission also studied the following topics pursuant to its statutory authority:
(1) The use of tax increment financing (TIF).
(2) The issue of a supplier discriminating against consumers based on the price of promotion of goods to retailers by refusing to sell to a retailer a good at the same price that the supplier sells the good to any other retailer. (SEA 382-2013)
III. SUMMARY OF WORK PROGRAM
The Commission met at the State House in Indianapolis on November 13, 2013, November 18, 2013, December 2, 2013, and December 3, 2013. The meeting on December 2, 2013, was a joint meeting with the Indiana Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations.
IV. SUMMARY OF TESTIMONY
The Commission heard testimony from state agencies, trade associations, advocacy groups, local governments, representatives from higher education, business persons, and interested individuals on the following:
Local Taxes:
1. Effect of circuit breaker credits on unprotected taxes of school corporations and other local units.
2. Development and impact of proposed soil productivity factors for assessment of agricultural land.
3. Use of TIF by local units and the extent to which levies are allocated to TIF districts.
4. Collection and distribution of local option income taxes.
5. Estimated impact of the property tax circuit breaker in 2014 and 2015.
State Taxes:
1. Examination of the use and impact of the following state income tax credits.
• 21 Century Scholars Program Tax Credit st
• Biodiesel Production Tax Credit
• Coal Gasification Technology Investment Tax Credit
• Ethanol Production Tax Credit
• Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit
• Indiana College Contribution Tax Credit
• Indiana Insurance Guaranty Association Tax Credit
• Indiana 529 College Savings Contribution Tax Credit
• Individual Development Account Tax Credit
• Lake County Residential Property Tax Credit
• Neighborhood Assistance Tax Credit
• Prison Investment Tax Credit
• Residential Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit
• Research Expense Tax Credit
• Riverboat Building Tax Credit
• School Scholarship Contribution Tax Credit
• Unified Tax Credit for the Elderly
2. Employment and educational levels of ex-felons, and the potential efficacy of an income tax credit for businesses that employ ex-felons.
Local Government Administration:
1. Benefits, costs, and limitations to local units from publishing budget documents and information.
2. Flexibility of local units in managing budgets.
3. Accounting by local units pursuant to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
4. Budget review of appointed library boards by county councils.
5. Changes to adjoining library district boundaries.
6. Determining and reporting the administrative costs of providing township assistance.
7. Land bank issues.
Other:
1. Price discrimination by suppliers of goods to retailers.
V. COMMITTEE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The Commission did not make any findings of fact or recommendations and did not adopt a final report.
http://www.in.gov/legislative/interim/committee/reports/STFPGB1.pdf
