Republicans disagree on tax priorities

Niki Kelly, writing for the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has an article entitled Legislative leaders see tax relief differently. House Ways & Means chair Jeff Espich has proposed legislation that would establish a five-year phase-out of local property tax levies for child welfare services.

There are currently four levies – the Family & Children Fund, Children’s Psychiatric Residential Treatment Services, Children with Special Health Care Needs and Medical Assistance to Wards – that local residents cover through property taxes even though the functions and the program are run by the state.

To the contrary, however, Senate Appropriations chair Bob Meeks says:

“It would be nice to have the welfare program off of the backs of property taxes, but where in the world are you going to get the money to pay for it?” he asked. “It’s not there.”

He said if the state economy rebounds enough to find extra cash in the budget, the first priority should be paying back schools and local governments who were shorted money in 2003 through a state accounting maneuver that delayed payments to them.

That total is about $725 million, he said.

Meeks said the state should focus on that “before we start all these grand programs we’ve been talking about” – such as property tax relief and an education voucher for autistic students.

And, the Democrats, not content to simply play the game of let’s you and him fight, chime in:

Democrats argue the state wouldn’t need to provide property tax relief if the GOP hadn’t passed a budget that failed to provide for local schools and governments.

For instance, schools were given multiple options to raise property taxes outside their usual levy rate to cover textbook, transportation and utility costs.

Republican lawmakers also instituted a soft cap on the property tax replacement credit given to counties to help cover some of their spending growth. That means homeowners will be hit with 100 percent of any increase instead of the usual 80 percent.

I don’t know the election schedules of Sen. Meeks or his fellow Republican Senators, but I’d guess that Rep. Espich’s desire to get tax relief moving as early as possible may have something to do with the 2006 elections. It’s all well and good for the Senate Republicans to sit back and be fiscally responsible, but Espich & Co. has to figure out a way not to lose its slim lead in the House.