Lawmakers Grapple With Property Tax Anger

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana's property tax crisis is front and center again Monday at the Statehouse, as lawmakers grapple with ways to stem public outrage over tax bills.

A special legislative panel is looking at whether homes and other property were assessed fairly and whether the controversial rebate checks are a good idea, 6News' Norman Cox reported.

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Capitol WatchBlog: Property Tax Crisis Analysis

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Last week, homeowners and other property owners had their chance to complain to the legislature's Tax and Finance Policy Commission. Now, the same body is hearing from experts about how to fix the problem.

Much of the complaining about the recent reassessment deals with trending, the new method of updating home prices based on recent sales.

Several county assessors told lawmakers Monday that they did their jobs right. But others called the new system too complicated and too confusing.

One legislator, whose main job is as a property taxpayer advocate, questioned the system's fairness.

"Fair is in the eye of the beholder, and if you're looking at an assessment that has increased dramatically, how can that be fair?" said Rep. Milo Smith, a Republican from Columbus. "The Legislature already has a circuit breaker in place. We just need to tweak that circuit breaker a little bit and say that no one could pay more than 10 percent of what they paid last year."

Those rebate checks were pounded, too. Marion County Auditor Billie Breaux said it would cost nearly $140,000 to process and mail the checks and said it would be cheaper and faster just to give the money as a credit on fall bills.

"Property taxpayers are frustrated when they hear that they will be getting a tax break, yet they must pay both installments in their property taxes upfront before receiving a check," Breaux said.

Until Monday, the rebate check idea was most closely tied with Democratic House Speaker Pat Bauer, but Sen. Bob Meeks, one of the Legislature's top Republicans, defended them, too.

Meeks said the plan was a way to ensure that taxpayers know the Legislature is providing tax relief. He also said budget makers were not certain that money from the new slots and tracks fees, which is financing the refund, would be in before the November tax deadline.