INDIANAPOLIS —
The State of Indiana has ended its fiscal year with a bonus for taxpayers: An automatic refund of at least $100 next year.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels announced that news at a press conference Tuesday, crediting a surplus of state revenues that kicks a new law into effect: Whenever the state collects a certain amount of more money than it needs to meet its yearly budget, a portion of that extra cash goes back into the pockets of Hoosiers.
The state is still closing out its books for the fiscal year that ended June 30. But Daniels said the preliminary information he’s received indicates the state will have more than $2 billion in reserves. That’s about 14 percent of the state budget and that’s enough to trigger the state’s first ever automatic taxpayer refund.
The governor said about 3 million state residents may be eligible for either the direct refund or a credit on taxes owed. Single filers should expect at least $100, while joint filers would get more than $200.
The state is also taking an equal chunk of money from the surplus — about $300 million — to put into the state’s public pension funds.
Daniels said the median amount of state income tax paid by Indiana residents is $819; that amount should go down about 10 percent next year with the refund, he said.
“There will be a double-digit discount for the typical Indiana taxpayer, sharing in the economy dividend that comes from a strong state fiscal picture,” Daniels said.
Daniels is ending his second term in office in December, before taking his new job as president of Purdue University.
He said it had been his mission to put Indiana on a strong financial footing.
“We thought this was a fundamental assignment of our administration — to turn over to our successors the strongest possible position,” Daniels said.
Exactly what the state’s fiscal picture looks like won’t be known for about another week, when state Auditor Tim Berry releases the final financial report.
The surplus comes in part from money reverted back from state agencies that were instructed by the governor to return a certain percentage of their budget back to the state’s coffers to help offset what has been declining revenues due to the recession.
Indiana law gives Daniels the power to make those cuts, and he’s exercised that power for several years. He declined to say how much of the surplus comes from cuts to state agencies. State budget officials said most agencies gave back about 3 percent about what had initially been approved by the Legislature. In past years, the reversions have been much bigger.
Daniels’ announcement triggered sneering comments from the Democratic House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer of South Bend. “Congratulations to Gov. Daniels for hitting his magical $2 billion in surplus and giving $100 tax credits to Hoosiers,” Bauer said in a press release. “Nevertheless, one has to ask, ‘What were the human costs paid in order to achieve this goal?”
Bauer zeroed in on cuts made in the past, including those made to K-12 education and the state’s Department of Child Services. And he was critical of mistakes made by state budget officials who last year admitted they’d lost track of about $320 million in corporate income tax revenue and earlier this year revealed they’d failed to distribute $206 million in local income tax revenues to counties.
“Taxpayer refunds are good,” Bauer said. “We proposed them long ago. However, $100 per taxpayer is less than $2 per week. It buys only about a half gallon of gasoline each week. The question has to be asked, “How much more are you paying for other necessities?”
Daniels, though, defended his decisions to push the state into frugal spending, saying it’s put Indiana in a position of being one of the few states that hasn’t engaged in deep deficit spending. He made reference to the neighboring state of Illinois, which currently has a $43 billion budget deficit.
“We made a different choice and I think it was the right one,” Daniels said.
Maureen Hayden covers the Statehouse for the CNHI newspapers in Indiana. She can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup.com.
State News
State surplus triggers automatic taxpayer refund
- State News
-
-
Indiana’s high school grad rate continues upward
Indiana’s reported high school graduation rate continues to improve, moving from 77 percent to more than 88 percent in less than a decade, but there are still significant achievement gaps marked by race and income.
-
Schools chief Ritz on fast learning curve
For many occupants of the Indiana Statehouse, the week after the General Assembly wraps up its final frenzy of work is a quiet one. But not for Glenda Ritz.
-
SLIDESHOW: Governor Otis R. Bowen
Photos from the Indiana State Archives of the late Otis R. Bowen, who served as governor of the state as well as in the Ronald Reagan White House. The Bremen native died Saturday
-
Out of office, Lugar shuns retirement
One year ago, Indiana’s longest serving U.S. senator was rejected by Republican primary voters and forced into an unwelcome retirement from a distinguished political career that spanned 46 years. But at 81, former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar is hardly in a resting mode.
-
Lugar wary of Syria involvement
Former U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar has been out of office since early January, but he’s still being sought after for his opinion about foreign policy matters he once helped shape.
-
Judge grants class status to lawsuit again BMV
INDIANAPOLIS — As many as 4 million Indiana drivers could become plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles has overcharged for driver’s licenses since 2007.
-
Budget deal includes little funding for criminal code reform
Facing the end-of-session deadline, Indiana legislators moved forward on a bill to overhaul the state’s criminal sentencing laws but left undone the issue of where local communities will get the money to implement it.
-
Legislators closing in on final budget
In his first four months as the chief budget maker in the Indiana House, Republican Rep. Tim Brown hasn’t been surprised by the long hours, multiple demands and intense debate that goes with crafting a $30 billion spending plan.
-
New poll shows voters tepid on Pence tax plan
With just days to go before the deadline for a final budget bill, a new independent poll shows Republican Gov. Mike Pence may not have gotten much mileage for his travels around the state pitching his 10 percent tax cut plan.
-
DOC hopes ‘cold case’ cards lead to solved cases
Indiana state prison officials are using customized playing cards for a deadly serious purpose: To help unlock the mysteries of unsolved murders and persons gone missing.
-
Indiana attorney general says Congress must act on immigration reform
Amidst concerns that the Boston Marathon bombing may derail federal action on comprehensive immigration reform, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller is turning up some collective heat on Congress to move ahead.
-
Disagreements stall criminal code reform bill
Negotiations over the final language in a bill that rewrites Indiana’s criminal code may come down to the last week of the legislative session.
-
Budget forecasters predict bigger drop in gaming revenues
While a gaming bill is still in play in the General Assembly, state budget forecasters are predicting the payoff to the state from legalized gambling will be even lower than they thought.
-
Legislature heads into final stretch
The Indiana General Assembly has slogged its way through hundreds of bills since convening in January but in some critical ways, the real work has just begun.
-
Criminal records bill passes Indiana Senate
Legislation that would allow some people with long-ago arrests and convictions in Indiana to wipe clean their criminal record has moved one step closer to the governor’s desk.
-
Court challenge likely for welfare drug-testing bill
Both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly have passed a bill that ties drug testing to welfare benefits, but if signed into law, the next debate may be on the question: Is it constitutional?
-
Push to roll back ban on in-state tuition for immigrants stops short
House Republicans who wanted to roll back a two-year-old ban on in-state tuition for the children of undocumented immigrants have abandoned their plan to expand a Senate bill covering a much smaller group of students.
-
House committee OKs in-state tuition for some undocumented students
The debate over in-state college tuition for the children of undocumented immigrants is headed for the Indiana House.
-
Legislators working on funding plan for criminal code rewrite
As legislation that overhauls Indiana’s criminal code moves forward, supporters of the bill are working on finding funding for local communities to implement it.
-
Republican super PAC leader backs immigration reform
As the politics of immigration reform heats up in the Statehouse and Congress, a prominent Republican is ramping up his efforts to rid the influence of what he calls anti-immigrant “extremists” in his party.
-
House considers bill to shorten school day
Legislation that would have freed the state’s high-performing schools from the mandatory 180-day school year has been amended in the House with a provision to shorten the school day instead.
-
House committee debates ban on in-state tuition for immigrant children
Two years after banning the children of undocumented immigrants from paying in-state tuition rates at the state’s public universities, Indiana legislators are debating whether to roll back that prohibition.
-
Pence says Senate GOP plan for 3 percent tax cut not enough
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence appears to be still dug in on his demand for a 10 percent income tax cut, despite a “nod” from Senate Republicans willing to give him a smaller slice of what he wants.
-
Conservative coalition supports rollback of immigrant tuition ban
Supporters of a national coalition of conservative clergy, law enforcement and business leaders are calling on Indiana lawmakers to roll back the state’s ban on in-state college tuition for the children of immigrants who came here illegally.
-
Pence’s 'ERASER' bill appears dead
Legislation pushed by Gov. Mike Pence to eliminate licensing requirements for more than a dozen occupations is apparently dead, killed by a lack of support from both Republicans and Democrats in the General Assembly.
-
Bill limiting seclusion and restraint to discipline students moves ahead
Legislation aimed at reducing the use of physical restraints and locked isolation rooms to discipline students continues to gain support in the General Assembly.
-
House committee pushes Pence to negotiate Medicaid expansion
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has insisted he won’t expand what he calls the “broken” Medicaid health insurance program for the poor, but some state legislators are encouraging him to do so, even it’s called by another name.
-
Debate over pot penalties not over in Indiana
The politics of pot may keep Indiana lawmakers from rolling back the state’s tough marijuana laws this session, but it won’t eradicate the push for decriminalization.
-
Gun-rights lawmaker wants tougher gun penalty
One of the chief sponsors of legislation that would rewrite the Indiana criminal code wants to amend the bill to add a mandatory five-year prison sentence for using a gun to commit a felony.
-
DOC says criminal code bill will cause spike in prison numbers
A week after Gov. Mike Pence caught lawmakers by surprise with his opposition to a major criminal code reform bill, the state Department of Correction is projecting the bill will blow up the state’s prison population far beyond what the legislature’s non-partisan research agency says it will.
- More State News Headlines
-
Indiana’s high school grad rate continues upward
Raw: Tornado on the Ground in Oklahoma
Raw: Rescue Workers Search Oklahoma School
Raw: Aftermath of Massive Tornado in Oklahoma
Raw: Walking in a Flattened Okla. Neighborhood
Raw: Witness Describes Scene After Okla. Tornado
Raw: House Burns After Massive Oklahoma Tornado
Oklahoma Gov: 'Hearts Are Broken' After Tornado
Raw: Suspects Butt Dial 911, Lead to Arrest
Raw: Rescuers Pull Tornado Survivors to Safety
Huge Tornado Kills Dozens Near Oklahoma City
Split-second Choice Ended With NY Student Dead
White House Backs 'Shield Law' for Media
Raw: Swarm of Tornadoes Slams Plains
RAW: TV Staff Take Cover From Tornado
Tornadoes, Storms Strike Midwest
Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma
Active Search for Utah Missing Mom Ends
Pug Life on Display at Wisconsin Festival
Voters Could Elect LA's First Female Mayor
Analyst: Tumblr Fills Void in Yahoo's Offerings
IWitness Look at Moore, OK Tornado
Trailer: 'The Last Stand' Available on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, Digital Download
Pickler's Dance Moves Cause A Stir
Okla. tornado survivor finds dog buried alive under rubble
RAW: Moore, OK tornado touches down near school
Sneak Peek: 'Modern Family' Says Good Bye
Robert Pattinson Moves Out
RAW: Russian dash cam catches car 20 feet in the air
Oklahoma tornado survivor: "Everything is gone"
Khloe Lashes Out at Kim Kardashian's Critics
Couple Argues As Woman's Lover Crawls Out Window
RAW: Brad Paisley Forgets Lyrics To His Own Song
Justin Bieber Gets Booed
New 'Anchorman 2' Trailer, Drake Joins List of Rumored Cameos
Eva Longoria's Wardrobe Malfunction
Heat Star Dwyane Wade Surprises Coral Gables Teen At Prom
Steak n' Shake waitress scores huge tip
Singer Miguel Accidentally Lands on Fan At Billboard Music Awards
Celebs Celebrate the Rise of the Side Butt
