Lowering the property tax burden on Indiana’s farmland owners is the ultimate goal of House Bill 1192 that’s been written by State Rep. Kendell Culp (R-District 16). The bill would change the calculation that your county assessor uses to determine the assessed value of farmland with a goal of lowering farmland property taxes.
“I like what Rep. Culp has brought in his bill. I think it is absolutely overdue that we help farmers,” says Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith (R-IN), who also serves as the Secretary of the Indiana Department of Agriculture (ISDA), as well as the president of the Indiana Senate.
“Indiana Farm Bureau put out a report that this past year, farmers have seen property taxes increase 26.2 percent year-over-year, and that’s insane! You can’t continue to have a profitable business or farm with seeing high taxes like that,” he says.
How does Beckwith respond to those who say that lowering farmland property taxes could mean a drop in funding for schools and other local programs?
“I get the fact that you can’t just stop property taxes right away because the small communities rely on those property taxes, and so we’re not trying to pull the rug out from under anyone, but we will destroy small farms and family-owned farms if we don’t get this property tax under control quickly. That’s what I think Kendall Culp is trying to do. That’s what I know Gov. Mike Braun is focused on. I’ve certainly been a very loud proponent of fixing the property tax issue for farmers,” says Beckwith.
He adds that Gov. Braun’s directive to cut five-percent of the budget for each of the state’s agencies will go a long way in helping provide that property tax relief.
“If we can trim government from a state perspective—you don’t need as much taxpayer funds to prop up this bloated government—maybe then, we can transfer those savings to farmers by cutting back on things like property taxes,” says Beckwith. “I think this is a 30,000-foot conversation, but it all starts with getting the tax burden off of the taxpayer as much as we possibly can. But, If we’re going to do that we got to be effective and efficient with what we are called to steward here in government.”
House Bill 1192 has been assigned to the Ways and Means Committee of the Indiana House, which is chaired by State Rep. Jeff Thompson (R-District 28). Even though the bill had its first reading with the committee on Jan. 8, it has not come up for a committee vote.
CLICK HERE for more information on House Bill 1192.
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CLICK BELOW to hear Hoosier Ag Today’s conversation with Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith about House Bill 1192.
