I was proud to support major tax cuts during the 2023 legislative session. Most importantly, Indiana's income tax will
drop to 2.9% over the next four years. This permanent tax cut is expected to
save Hoosiers over $1 billion by 2027, including more than $100 million in 2024 alone.
In addition:
- Indiana doubled the income tax deduction parents can claim for a new child.
- Members of the Armed Forces and National Guard will be totally exempt from state income tax on their military pay starting in 2024.
- Hoosier businesses, especially small businesses, will see over $50 million in federal tax savings through a new law making more LLCs and S corps eligible for a federal tax deduction already available to larger corporations.
- Indiana coupled the earned income tax credit to the federal credit requirements as of Jan. 1, 2023, which will make it easier for families to claim the credit in Indiana and save them an estimated $20 million per year.
- Going forward, the General Assembly will review our entire state and local tax system and consider ways to lower the income tax and/or property taxes on homes.
SUPPORTING HEALTHY CHILDREN AND FAMILIESThere are countless community-based organizations throughout Indiana supporting children and parents to promote healthier, happier families. Our state budget provides financial support for some of these key organizations to continue doing good work on behalf of Hoosiers.
The budget also funds important public programs like Safety PIN grants and My Healthy Baby, which recently began serving pregnant women in all 92 Indiana counties. Our budget also offers financial support to parents by expanding the income tax exemption for new dependents and continuing to fund an adoption tax credit.
Indiana's new state budget invests in both public schools and educational choice for families. Under our budget, funding follows the child because we want taxpayer dollars to go toward teaching children in the learning environment that best suits them.
Over the next two years, K-12 education in Indiana will receive $2.9 billion in increased funding. While we won't know how much any school receives until enrollment counts are completed, the nonpartisan projections done at the time the state budget passed estimate that traditional public schools will serve 88% of students and receive 90% of the state money, vouchers 8.5% of students and 6% of the money, and charter schools 3.5% of students and 4% of the money.
Here are some of the ways Indiana's new budget expands educational options for families.
- Almost every child in Indiana is now eligible for our state's Choice Scholarship Program to help cover the cost of attending a non-public school in their community. Any child from a family with a household income below 400% of the amount to qualify for school lunch assistance is now eligible. Find out more about the Choice Scholarship Program here.
- Until now, students at public charter schools were at a significant local funding disadvantage because charters did not have a permanent funding source for building and transportation costs. The new budget allows charter schools in some of Indiana's most populated areas (Lake, Marion, St. Joseph and Vanderburgh counties) to receive a share of local property tax revenue to offset those costs.
- Indiana is continuing to offer customizable educational opportunities to special-needs students through the Education Scholarship Account Program. High schoolers seeking to participate in on-the-job learning activities can benefit from the same flexibility through the new Career Scholarship Account Program. Both programs provide families with state dollars in a dedicated account that can be used for approved educational purposes.
Last year, my fellow lawmakers and I heard loud and clear from the agricultural community that state agencies were going too far in regulating land development under a state law that requires permits for work done in a floodplain. Some landowners found themselves blindsided to learn that their land had been deemed to be in a floodplain even with no history of flooding, restricting what they could do on their own property.
In the 2023 session, the General Assembly passed SEA 242, which gives property owners the option to follow floodplain maps from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources or use an independent engineering study to determine if they were in a floodplain. We are continuing to review important related issues for farmers and other property owners with a special Drainage Task Force this fall.
