By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — State Sen. Ryan Mishler on Thursday distanced himself from a proposal that would eliminate property taxes and replace them with revenue from a sales-for-service tax.
In a conversation with local media Thursday afternoon, Mishler was highly critical of a plan proposed by State Representative J.D. Prescott that would eliminate all property taxes.
Mishler then pivoted to discuss his own proposal, set to be discussed Tuesday in Warsaw, that would significantly change the homestead tax.
Mishler didn’t mention Prescott by name, but talked about the meeting he hosted July 31 that attracted about 50 people in Warsaw.
The idea of eliminating property taxes sounded more like a fantasy just a few years ago, but the state Republican Party has embraced the notion earlier this year during a GOP state convention.
Mishler said Presscott’s plan has numerous problems. He almost sounded offended that the east-central Indiana lawmaker included Warsaw as part of a multi-city tour to promote the idea.
“Had that not happened, I wouldn’t be doing it this way,” Mishler said. “But I feel like because of that, my folks need to hear … why it’s not good for their community.”
Kosciusko County benefits greatly from the large number of lake homes owned by people who live elsewhere.
“So what happens to Kosciusko County? That means every single lake home that’s a non-homestead won’t pay a dime in taxes to Kosciusko County — that basically wipes us off the map,” he said.
“That alone, representing Kosciusko County, how do I support that?” he added.
Mishler will be joined by State Rep. Craig Snow of Warsaw, as well as State Sen. Chris Garten, for a town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Zimmer Biomet Center Lake Pavilion to talk about tax reform.
All three Republican lawmakers will play a key role in developing the next state budget next year, and Mishler is expected to tout his plan to adjust the homestead property tax significantly.
Garten is poised to become president pro tem when lawmakers convene in January
Mishler, the Senate Appropriations Chairman, has been reluctant to reveal details of the plan, but it appears it would scale back part of the homestead tax.
He pitched a similar plan a few years ago, but it did not gain much support, and said Thursday that they’ve come up with a way to provide replacement revenue.
He did not provide details on Thursday.
The plan, he said, would adjust the homestead “without putting us in a bind with the bondholders.”
State lawmakers have worked for two years trying to come up with a workable tax reform plan, but concerns and confusion, especially at the local level, have complicated the process.
“All the things that have been done so far is so confusing that nobody really seems to understand. So, first of all, I’m trying to simplify it a little bit,” he said.
