Harris votes against Republican tax hike on Hoosiers

Today, Indiana House Republicans passed Senate Bill 1 with an amendment that will potentially increase Hoosiers' local income taxes by $1.1 billion annually while cutting police, fire, EMS and public school services by $1.4 billion over three years. While the bill was pushed through with very little time to review the possible fiscal impact, it's clear that SB 1 will provide minimal property tax relief to Hoosiers. Republican leadership told Hoosiers it's time to "tighten our belts" while discussing this legislation, despite House Democrats' concerns that SB 1 will choke the life out of vital services provided by local governments.

State Rep. Earl Harris Jr. (D-East Chicago) issued the following statement after voting "no" on SB 1:

"With SB 1, Lake County is set to lose $193,198,000 over the next three years thanks to cuts to critical local services including police, fire, EMS and schools.  As residents of the county, we will be paying higher local income taxes to make up for this egregious funding cut. Unfortunately, you shouldn't expect to be able to use the money you save on property taxes under this legislation to help pay for that tax hike, because the relief SB 1 provides property taxpayers is minimal, at best. As for renters, they will see no property tax relief on top of these higher local income taxes. This Republican property tax plan is a sham designed to deceive Hoosiers into thinking they're getting a break, when in reality, they're paying the price for the majority party's fiscal irresponsibility.

"An earlier proposal to have public schools share property taxes with charter schools was also rolled into this bill, increasing the burden on our local public schools. Many of these schools are already doing more with less, and SB 1 will have detrimental impacts on schools and the children they serve for years to come."