Purdue News
Purdue News
|
|
May 5, 2000 Experts traveling state to explain possible tax changesWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A proposed change in the way property is assessed in Indiana could mean significantly higher tax bills for homeowners. Purdue University experts will travel the state in May and June explaining the possible tax shifts and policy alternatives. Agricultural economists Larry DeBoer and John Huie and Extension specialist Bill Jones will conduct 14 meetings, from South Bend to Evansville. The meetings are free and open to the public and will include an exercise called "Indiana's Assessment Dilemma: The Game," in which groups try to create a property tax system that balances the interests of taxpayers and the state budget. Property tax is levied on real estate, equipment and inventories, at rates that are established by elected officials. Property values are determined by local tax assessors, based on rules written by the State Board of Tax Commissioners. Currently, Indiana bases its assessments on the cost of replacing property minus depreciation, rather than the property's market value. Indiana and Nevada are the only states that do not use a market value assessment method. In 1998, the state Supreme Court ruled that Indiana's assessment rules violate the state constitution because they are not "uniform and equal" and fail to take market value into account. So far, the state tax board, the governor and the Indiana General Assembly have not come up with an assessment plan to meet the court's uniformity test. State law requires assessments be done every four years. An assessment scheduled for 1999 has been delayed by the controversy. Moving from a replacement cost approach to a market value assessment system would dramatically affect homeowners and businesses alike, DeBoer said. "We are so far from uniformity right now that if we were to go to a market value system, we estimate the average homeowner would pay about 33 percent more in taxes and the average business would pay about 18 percent less – and it wouldn't raise any more revenue," DeBoer said. Huie, a former chairman of the state tax board, said assessment guidelines aren't applied evenly across Indiana. An assessor in one township may declare an empty field as farmland, while another may assess a similar parcel as commercial land – taxed at thousands of dollars more, Huie said. Jones said the public meetings will help Hoosiers understand the changes that could be on the horizon, if Indiana switches to a market value assessment system. Purdue is taking no position on the property tax issue. "These meetings provide an avenue for the university to educate the public that is quite unique," said Jones, who formerly worked for the state tax board. Meeting dates, times and locations are: • May 22, 7-9 p.m., Vanderburgh County 4-H Fairgrounds, Evansville. • May 23, 7-9 p.m., Dubois County 4-H Fairgrounds, Jasper. • May 24, 7-9 p.m., Salem High School, 700 N. Harrison St., Salem. • June 5, 7-9 p.m., Porter County Fairgrounds Exposition Center, Valparaiso. • June 6, 7-9 p.m., Kendallville Library, Kendallville. • June 7, 7-9 p.m., Indiana Wesleyan University, Jefferson Avenue, Fort Wayne. • June 12, 7-9 p.m., Cass County 4-H Center, Logansport. • June 14, 7-9 p.m., Tippecanoe County Extension Office, 3150 Sagamore Parkway S., Lafayette. • June 15, 7-9 p.m., Muncie Area Career Center, 2400 N. Elgin, Muncie. • June 20, 7-9 p.m., State Farm Bureau Building, 225 S. East St., Indianapolis. • June 21, 10 a.m.-noon, Clay County Fairgrounds, Brazil. • June 22, 7-9 p.m., South Ripley Elementary School, 1568 S. Benham Road, Versailles. • June 27, 7-9 p.m., St. Joseph County Fairgrounds, South Bend. • June 28, 7-9 p.m., Bartholomew County Extension Office, 1971 State St., Columbus. Sources: Larry DeBoer, (765) 494-4314; deboer@agecon.purdue.edu John Huie, (765) 494-4298; Huie@agecon.purdue.edu Bill Jones, (765) 494-4231; jonesb@agecon.purdue.edu Writer: Steve Leer, (765) 494-8415; sleer@aes.purdue.edu Related Web sites: Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
|
