Under the agreement signed Thursday, Indiana will receive about $217 million during the next two years, enough to pay for programs that use the dedicated tobacco money.
Indiana's settlement of its dispute with major tobacco companies — a deal bringing the state $217 million over the next two years — will help meet the state's obligations for several health-related programs, a top lawmaker says.
The Indiana Department of Revenue is five to seven years from replacing the 1990s software that processes the bulk of the state’s tax dollars and that auditors cited in the wake of massive accounting errors.
Many businesses that were started in the recession are growing up. And while those businesses are probably tougher and nimbler than their competition, they are still a lot younger than they look.
Sales tax is Indiana’s largest source of revenue. But it is tied to consumer spending, and Americans have become increasingly reluctant to spend as median incomes have remained virtually stagnant over the past 30 years.
Republican supermajorities in 2013 and 2014 left a lot of unfinished business on the table, and that—as well as changes in technology and public expectations—portends an extremely active 2015 General Assembly session.
The forecast also calls for revenue to grow 4.1 percent and 4.7 percent the next two years. The forecast also projects gaming revenue to drop below 2003 levels in the next two years.
Indiana would require stores to have a license to sell electronic cigarettes and would tax the battery-powered devices like traditional tobacco products under a bill a state lawmaker said he'll sponsor.
Federal officials have approved Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s plan to provide health insurance to lower-income Hoosiers, despite provisions that require some participants to pay part of the premium.
Indiana’s first Bitcoin ATM, which recently debuted at an Irvington e-cigarette emporium called World of Vapor, is either a glimpse of Indiana’s cyber-money future or an anachronism. Or perhaps both.
A large group came to protest Senate Bill 539, authored by Sen. Carlin Yoder, R-Middlebury, which would establish regulations on e-liquid – the fluid used in electronic cigarettes.
Indiana is one step closer to placing regulations on e-liquids used in electronic cigarettes and vapor pens after a House committee passed a bill on Wednesday, sending it to the full House for debate.
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller told lawmakers he wants to see Indiana do more when it comes to “the issues of e-cigarette and liquid nicotine” use, and he wants to see legislators address the issue this session.
Several owners of vaping-related businesses told Senate committee members it would cost them thousands of dollars to comply with the proposed regulations.
Legislation to regulate the liquids used in vaping and e-cigarettes was put on hold Thursday as senators began to consider possible changes to the bill.
The bill's provisions include banning sales to those younger than 18, establishing manufacturing safety standards, and requiring child-proof and tamper-proof caps on containers.
