There are three buckets of money coming out of Lake County's new income tax, and one will lead to deep property tax cuts for many residents.
The County Adjusted Gross Income Tax will raise about $97 million for property tax relief across the county. That could slice the county portion of property tax bills by up to 85 percent.
"That tax will bring property tax relief and it will be profound," said Town of Highland Clerk/Treasurer Michael Griffin.
Individuals' overall property tax bills will come down by amounts varying by community. For example, in Crown Point the overall cut will be about 16.5 percent and in Merrillville about 16.3 percent.
The second bucket of money raised, about $24.3 million, will be devoted to law enforcement. Much of it is going to start a new county-wide dispatch system but local police departments are also benefiting.
The third bucket is the County Economic Development Income Tax, which will raise about the same amount. Griffin has been working with U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky to encourage local communities to put some of that money aside for the South Shore extension.
"I'm very optimistic early on," Griffin said. "I will tell you, there are a lot of things competing for that money."
http://www.nwitimes.com/business/board-of-economists/government-tax-break-will-flow-to-property-owners/article_6af333e9-4d94-5966-8c5f-71a5ac5e8d1f.html
