Eliminate or reduce Indiana's business personal property tax? That has been the bold suggestion of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.
But judging by local reaction to the idea at Saturday's Legislative Update session at the Farm Bureau board room in Greencastle, the governor won't be getting much support locally.
Mayor Sue Murray offered up a Greencastle City Council resolution unanimously opposed to the plan.
Greencastle/Putnam County Development Center Director Bill Dory produced some scary statistics on its potential effect locally.
And County Council President Darrel Thomas not so adoringly referred to the Pence proposal as "the elephant in the room."
Gov. Pence, however, sees the legislation as a step toward making Indiana an even more attractive place for businesses to relocate and/or expand.
Currently, the tax generates an estimated $1.1 billion for cities, counties, schools, libraries and other units of local government, according to a Legislative Services Agency report.
The tax is imposed on equipment used by businesses. Such personal property can be a newspaper's printing press, a factory's metal-stamping machinery or auto parts maker's injection-molding press. The report notes that it amounts to about 14.5 percent of Indiana's taxable property value.
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