Indiana Wants Local Casino Revenue to Fund State
The state of Indiana has seen how well casinos and gambling have worked for its municipal and county governments as a revenue generating system. Now, in the midst of the property tax conundrum, Indiana wants to deprive local governments of some of that money to replace what will be lost in tax reform.
During the real estate boom from 1999-2005, governments across the country saw income from property tax skyrocket. As housing prices shot up, so did the amounts paid in taxes on these houses. Some areas collected three or four times as much in property tax at the end of the boom as they had been a scant five or six years earlier.
Now, outraged citizens want taxes lowered so they can afford to buy houses and relocate again, and governments say the cutbacks can't be afforded. After collecting a 300% bonus, a cutback of 10% (to 270% of the original amount) is too steep without cutting basic services like fire and police protection? This is like telling an employee his raises will quadruple his salary over the next few years, then telling him he has to cut back to three times his first salary, and then hearing he can't afford it, or he won't be able to pay the electric bill; never mind the Lamborghini he bought.
Still, the nature of bureaucracy is to grow, never to shrink. This is why Reagan said, "Government is the problem, not the solution."
Thus, Indiana mayors are left to fight to hold on to their income. Mayors from East Chicago, Hammond, Michigan City, and Gary met this week to figure out ways to keep the state from diverting monies badly needed in their areas.
Publicizing the problem may help the mayors' cause, but local legislators are caught between a rock and a hard place: people want lower property tax, and that state wants money. Perhaps more casinos would help.
