Ignoring data showing that Indiana's decade of trickle-down prosperity policies haven't improved the income, health or quality of life for most Hoosiers, Gov. Mike Pence promised Thursday to deliver still more business-centered programs in the upcoming legislative session.
"I think a rising tide lifts all boats," Pence said. "So we're continuing to promote policies that will encourage investment and jobs."
The top item on the Republican governor's Roadmap 2014 is eliminating the business personal property tax, which would sap another $1 billion a year from cash-strapped schools and local governments already forced to cut services due to the $950 million annual impact of property tax caps.
Pence said Indiana's tax on business equipment, which 38 other states also impose, is an impediment to companies considering relocating to the state, and eliminating it will further improve Indiana's already top-rated business tax climate.
"I truly do believe that by phasing out the business personal property tax in the state of Indiana we will ensure that Indiana remains in the very forefront of the competition to attract new investment and jobs," Pence said.
Similar business tax cuts have yet to produce the flood of jobs their supporters predicted.
Since 2004, Indiana has eliminated the business inventory tax, cut the corporate income tax rate to 6.5 percent from 8.5 percent and got rid of sales taxes on business research and development equipment while also reducing the cost of state regulatory compliance.
Despite those moves, Indiana unemployment remains higher than the national rate, and per capita Hoosier incomes are among the lowest in the country.
House Democratic Leader Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, said he worries that if the Republican-controlled Legislature eliminates the business personal property tax, that burden will be shifted to middle-class Hoosiers who are already working harder for less money.
"We have focused on the investor and business side of the ledger for quite some time. ... We've ignored the consumer side," Pelath said. "We need people with jobs and earning wages that they can spend at other businesses to create jobs for other people."
Pence said he will ensure the tax cut "does not unduly harm" local governments and said he's convinced it's the right thing to do. The business tax cut is strongly supported by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
"Research shows that attracting more businesses and more people into our communities to invest in the state will positively affect us; it will improve not only our overall economy but will improve personal income in the state of Indiana," he said.
Other business items on Pence's legislative agenda include: eliminating licensing for most occupations that now require it, cutting taxes on farmland, creating a "one stop" portal for new business registration and promoting small individual investments in startup companies, known as "crowdfunding."
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