Statehouse Republicans not on same page over potential tax cuts in 2022 session

There will be debate in Indiana’s 2022 legislative session over cutting taxes. But at this point, the two Republican caucuses don’t seem to be on the same page on that issue.

Indiana has recently experienced unprecedented revenue levels. And that has some Republicans exploring ways to send money back to Hoosiers via tax cuts. House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) said he’s looking at the individual income tax and the business personal property tax.

“It would help a ton of the small and medium-sized businesses in Indiana and I think it’s exactly the right thing to do," Huston said. "I think it’s the last bad business tax that we have.”

On the business personal property tax, Huston said he's looking at eliminating the "depreciation floor." That floor means that the value of the business equipment being taxed can't ever drop below 30 percent of its original value. Huston estimated eliminating that floor would cost around $300 million.

READ MORE: Holcomb weighs potential tax cuts in 2022 or 2023 legislative sessions

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Sen. Mark Messmer (R-Jasper) said his caucus is inclined to wait until 2023 to make those kinds of decisions.

“When that federal stimulus money dries up, at this point I don’t think we can accurately predict where those tax revenues will settle out,” Messmer said.

Messmer said his preference would be to avoid spending down any state revenue in the 2022 session and see if the state again triggers its automatic taxpayer refund, as it did last fiscal year.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.