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Tax Simplification Bill Faces Changes From House Committee

PT Money

A measure aimed at simplifying the state’s tax code is on its way to the House floor.

But the version committee members passed doesn’t include as many changes as Gov. Mike Pence was pushing for.

Pence’s proposed tax bill, sponsored by Rep. Todd Huston, R-Fishers, aims to simplify the tax code by, in part, eliminating more than two dozen tax credits. It also included a change to a sales tax exemption for Hoosier businesses.

But while the Pence administration estimated the cost of that change at around $35 million, legislative fiscal analysts put its price tag as high $230 million.

And Huston says, since that issue hasn’t been solved, the sales tax exemption change had to go.

“We can’t yet quite get to a fiscal amount that is appropriate and meets the objectives of the bill to be largely revenue neutral,” Huston says.

Huston’s amendment in committee also spared several tax credits from the chopping block, including a credit for donations made to Indiana colleges and universities.

The bill was approved 10-6.

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.
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