From the Elkhart Truth:
The first Third House meetings of the year that put Indiana lawmakers in front of their constituents covered a lot of ground — the same-sex marriage constitutional amendment, common core education issues, mental illness and guns — but one topic that emerged in both meetings was an initiative to approve a new local option income tax for Elkhart County.
The Goshen Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce sponsored meetings in their downtown headquarters Saturday, Jan. 25, that included appearances by Indiana Sen. Carlin Yoder, Rep. Wes Culver, Rep. Tim Neese and Rep. Timothy Wesco.
County officials, with the help of lobbyists, have been urging state legislators to approve a new local option income tax of up to 1 percent. The tax would be adjusted annually to help replace revenue the local government lost because of property tax caps .
Goshen mayor Allan Kauffman said the local option income tax would not be “a new authority to tax.”
“It’s an additional option for the 1 percent that the county already has the authority to pass,” he said. “It’s the only one that will help schools and libraries, and this is critical for a county like Elkhart County where all of the urban school corporations are facing busing issues, that are looking at referendums that are going to increase your property taxes if we don’t increase the income tax 1 percent.”
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http://www.elkharttruth.com/article/20140125/NEWS01/701259974
