Photo: Marianne Holland
Governor Daniels is backed by supporters of a referendum putting tax caps into the state's constitution.
About 50 supporters rallying for a yes vote on the property tax cap referendum that will appear on the November election ballot gathered on the south side of Indianapolis Wednesday, making their case for why those caps should be placed in the state constitution.
Question one on the November ballot will ask voters whether they want to put current property tax caps in the state constitution. Those caps don’t set in stone the dollar amount a property owner pays on his or her taxes, since property assessments used to calculate the tax bills can rise and fall. Also, lawmakers allowed for referendums that let local governments and schools go above the caps. But Governor Mitch Daniels said the key is that they’ll need voters’ approval.
“When local spending units want to raise more money, they have to get the people’s permission to do it,” he said. “It’s no longer the case that they can simply raise it at their own discretion and that’s the way it should be.”
The property tax caps became law in 2008, despite opposition from groups that said it would limit funding flexibility for government programs. Now opponents, most notably the Indiana Farm Bureau and state Chamber of Commerce say they won’t actively campaign against the measure.
