Effects of pandemic will slam state, local tax receipts
A former Senate budget writer said the hit to the state budget could be bigger than during the Great Recession, when state revenue dropped 15% over two years.
Taxes
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Coronavirus deals one-two financial punch to state budgets
Cris Johnston, director of the Indiana Office of Management and Budget, said Thursday that the state has begun to use some of its $2.3 billion reserve fund. Indiana is far from alone.
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Reservoir cleanup costs spur division in tony Geist
More than 1,400 Geist households want a special taxing district that would raise money to maintain the reservoir. But other residents say the taxes would benefit mostly lakefront property owners, not people who live a few blocks away.
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Hoosier manufacturers feel trade war sting
As the U.S./China trade war drags on, advanced manufacturers in central Indiana are scrambling to determine their best course of action—and there are no easy answers.
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China to remove tariffs on some U.S. products, but not corn, soybeans
China extended an olive twig, rather than a branch, to the United States in their trade war Wednesday, announcing it would exempt 16 American-made products from tariffs as a sign of goodwill ahead of talks scheduled for next month.
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Articles
Trump signs $100B rescue bill while proposing $1 trillion plan to stabilize economy
Details on the president’s economic rescue plan remain sparse, but its centerpiece is to dedicate $500 billion to start issuing direct payments to Americans by early next month. It would also funnel cash to businesses to help keep workers on payroll.
Bill could strip IndyGo of millions of dollars, halt future work on Purple, Blue lines
Sen. Aaron Freeman, the Indianapolis Republican and former city councilor who authored the legislation, said his goal is not to cripple the bus system’s operations but to hold IndyGo accountable to a 2014 law that required it to fund some of its operations with private funds.
TurboTax maker Intuit buying Credit Karma in $7.1B deal
The agreement announced Monday would bring together the maker of TurboTax, QuickBooks and other personal finance tools with one focusing on consumers’ access to financial products, such as finding the right loan or credit card.
IRS to pay visits to high-income taxpayers who fail to file
The agency said Wednesday that it is stepping up its efforts to visit high-income taxpayers who failed in prior years to file their tax returns on time.
U.S. on track for first $1 trillion budget deficit since 2012
The U.S. budget deficit through the first four months of this budget year is up 19% from the same period a year ago.
Trump’s $4.8 trillion budget proposal revisits rejected cuts
The president unveiled an election year budget plan on Monday that recycles previously rejected cuts to domestic programs like food stamps and Medicaid to promise a balanced budget in 15 years—while leaving Social Security and Medicare benefits untouched.
Billionaire Bloomberg proposes tax plan aimed at wealthy
Billionaire Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg is unveiling a tax plan that would target the richest Americans—increasing rates on capital gains and corporate gains as well as introducing a new 5% surtax on incomes above $5 million.
Lawmakers consider change to business personal property tax
Senate Bill 385, authored by Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, would change the way the state’s business personal property tax is calculated.
Indiana lawmakers send surplus-spending bill to Holcomb
The bill moved through the Indiana General Assembly faster than usual. The chambers usually wait until the halfway point of the session to consider legislation that originated in the opposite chamber.
Medical device tax is history, ending years of frustration for Indiana companies
The repeal ends a 2.3% tax on thousands of medical devices, from stents and catheters to pacemakers and MRI machines. Indiana is home to 155 device-makers, ranging from small metal shops to multibillion-dollar manufacturers.
State expecting to bring in more revenue than previously estimated
The state is expecting an additional $531 million in revenue over the next biennium, according to a forecast released Friday. The additional dollars would bring reserves up to $2.4 billion in 2020 and $2.6 billion in 2021.
UPDATE: House OKs $1.4T federal spending bill that hikes tobacco-buying age
The Democratic-controlled House voted Tuesday to approve a $1.4 trillion government-wide spending package with an unusually large load of unrelated provisions on the must-do legislation—including an add-on that would hike the legal age nationwide for purchasing tobacco products.
Vaping crisis could be impetus for Legislature to raise smoking age to 21
Republicans hold a supermajority in both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly. But the leadership support doesn’t make the bill a slam dunk.
Warren ‘wealth tax’ estimates too optimistic, analysis says
Elizabeth Warren’s signature “wealth tax” would bring in at least $1 trillion less in new government revenue than the Democratic presidential candidate estimates while ultimately shrinking the economy over the next 30 years, according to a new academic analysis.
Stocks dive after Trump says trade deal with China could wait
President Trump said he has “no deadline” for a deal and didn’t mind waiting until after the election next year to make one. Investors had been hoping for a deal this year, or at least enough progress to stave off new U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods scheduled to start Dec. 15.
Council committee approves TIF designation for Twin Aire site
A City-County Council Committee on Monday recommended approval of a new tax-increment financing district for the Twin Aire neighborhood, which could lead to development opportunities in an area that will soon be home to the city’s new criminal justice complex.
First month of Indiana sports gambling draws $35.2M in wagers
PlayUSA.com Network, a news and research organization that follows sports gambling and operates PlayNJ.com and PlayIndiana.com, called the first-month data “impressive.”
UPDATE: Marion County reschedules canceled tax sale for early 2020
The sale was scheduled to take place Thursday and Friday but a clerical error forced the Treasurer’s Office to cancel the event. Nearly 1,200 parcels with minimum bids totaling some $6 million were to be auctioned and will now be available at the rescheduled sale in February—unless the owners pay their delinquent taxes.
Sanders pushes tax on companies where CEOs earn far more than workers
Under Sen. Bernie Sanders’ plan, the government would increase a firm’s corporate tax rate if its highest-paid employee earns more than 50 times what its average worker does—an attempt to encourage companies to distribute their profits more equitably.