By Rich James in the Northwest Indiana Times:
There is something wrong with this picture. Drastically wrong.
Gov. Mike Pence this week ordered state agencies to withhold $51.5 million in planned spending because state revenue for November was $76.8 million, or 7.8 percent short of the revenue target.
He put a hold on another $50 million in early 2013.
Pence said the cuts are necessary if the state is to maintain its $2 billion surplus.
I’m not sure why the state needs a $2 billion surplus, but so be it. It’s a nice round number.
What’s harder to understand is that Pence has made elimination of the business personal property tax his 2014 legislative priority.
On one hand, Pence is fighting to keep the state’s $2 billion surplus, and on the other hand, he is proposing a cut of $1.04 billion in revenue by eliminating the business personal property tax.
If that doesn’t bother you, consider that $109 million – or about 10 percent – of the business tax collected by the state comes from Lake County. And $25 million is collected in Porter County.
With the elimination of the tax, schools and local government here are going to get whacked.
Pence said he wants to cut the tax so it doesn’t “unduly” harm local government. And just what does unduly mean to you, governor?
Here’s the real kicker. House Speaker Brian Bosma provided the details Pence failed to mention.
Bosma said they may allow local government to decide whether to eliminate the business tax. Where was that mindset when Lake County was punished for not adopting an income tax?
What Pence and Bosma are saying is that Indiana is leaning toward pitting one county against another. Isn’t that akin to taking state’s rights to the point of absurdity?
Isn’t that kind of like grading all public schools based on the same criteria without consideration of the socioeconomic background of the students?
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http://www.nwitimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/rich-james/rich-james-pence-faces-revenue-shortfall-wants-to-lose-more/article_dfb707bd-8a7f-5668-a6e0-3890794f4cb3.html
