The Republic
ADHERENTS in the "Death to Property Taxes" cause would be well advised to heed a timeless and appropriate adage: Be careful of what you ask for. You might get it.
The movement has picked up steam throughout Indiana this year, especially in counties where property owners have received their tax statements.
Bills in some of those counties have skyrocketed, with homeowners depicted as the biggest losers.
It's is especially painful in Marion County and a result has been a series of angry and wellorganized protests that have been dutifully recorded by the Indianapolis media.
There is some question to the extent of the protest in that Indianapolis is a media center and events there are often magnified beyond their real value, but there can be no denying the very real calls for the abolishment of property taxes.
Proponents for abolishment likely took a big gulp however when a property tax reform panel issued a report on alternatives to the property tax.
To eliminate the property tax, members of the Legislative Service Agency told the Commission on State Tax and Finance Policy would require raising other taxes.
The state could choose to use the sales tax as the engine for fiscal growth, but to achieve equity with what had been raised in property taxes would involve an increase from 6 percent to 13.2 percent.
An increase in the personal income tax would have to include a jump from 3.4 percent to 9 percent.
Additional alternatives, which combine these and other taxes, could be used to dilute the significant impact of using a single source.
But regardless of what method is used, Hoosiers are going to wind up paying more for the government services.
Genuine tax reform is difficult to achieve and simple tinkering with the system tends to only deepen the resentment of a sizable segment of the population.
Property taxes have become an onerous burden for many Hoosiers, but to completely eliminate them could create an economic disaster.
The options of increasing either the sales or personal income taxes would spread the burden more evenly but - judging by the figures used by the Legislative Services Agency - could sink many middle-income Hoosiers into poverty.
Many suspect that studies such as this one are only wallpaper efforts of politicians trying to escape blame.
It is a dangerous way to seek political cover.
The most likely solution is a mix of approaches (including lowering but not eliminating dependence on property taxes) that would spread the burden among more Hoosiers.
Reducing expenditures by local governments is another popular battle cry, but that is an individual decision. In many communities it can mean the elimination of basic services.
Let's be realistic. No magic solutions can produce instant gratification.