Friday, July 23, 2021
As the nation continues to recover financially from the COVID-19 pandemic, Indiana's economy has improved faster than most other states. In fact, state revenues for the most recent fiscal year were $1.1 billion higher than expected, which triggered an automatic taxpayer refund.
Championed by Statehouse Republicans in the Indiana General Assembly in 2011, the automatic taxpayer refund law requires excess revenue be split between existing teacher pension obligations, and a refund for hardworking Hoosier taxpayers. Indiana is one of only six other states with an automatic taxpayer refund in place.
Hoosiers will receive their refunds through a tax credit when they file their taxes in 2022.
While we will not know how much money each taxpayer will receive for several more months, in total, about $545 million will be returned to taxpayers.
Our current two-year budget, which was passed earlier this year, combined with the $545 million the state has accumulated from the higher-than-expected fiscal closeout, means Indiana has paid down more than $1 billion in pension debt alone. If the current fiscal plan holds, the state could be looking at an additional $700 million going to pension obligations at the end of 2022.
It is incredibly encouraging to see Indiana's economy bounce back in such a quick and strong manner, and it is a testament to our state's resilient workforce and fiscal discipline.
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