By Rep. Stephen Bartels
The best kind of government is a small, limited one that works for the people. This legislative session, we made historic investments in the state’s priorities, paid down debt and prepared for a rainy day — all without growing government. Given our state’s strong fiscal health and booming economy, we recently received news that Hoosiers will get an automatic taxpayer refund. In short, conservative Republican leadership continues to pay off for Indiana’s citizens.
Our state’s end-of-year fiscal report shows a surging economy, which provided the state with $1.1 billion in excess reserves. This triggers an automatic taxpayer refund. State law requires reserve balances in excess of 12.5% of the next year’s budget to be split evenly between paying down pension obligations and returning money to taxpayers. This means $545 million will go toward pension obligations and $545 million will be returned to Indiana taxpayers. While the final refund amount will not be calculated until later this year, early estimates suggest taxpayers could receive credits as high as $170 for a single filer and $340 for couples filing jointly.
Hardworking Hoosiers and business owners are the engines of Indiana’s record-breaking economy. But this economic boom and subsequent refund wouldn’t be possible without strong conservative policies, which put Hoosier taxpayers first. Over the last decade, we’ve passed balanced budgets, lowered taxes, cut wasteful spending and invested in a fully funded long-term infrastructure plan. We continue to set aside reserves in case of potential economic downturns, which proved to be a critical safety net over the last year. Our fiscal responsibility paid off, and we were able to bounce back from the pandemic stronger than ever.
When we started drafting our newest budget at the start of the year, we were cautiously optimistic. But thanks to Hoosiers investing in our local and state economies, were able to provide record funding for K-12 schools, broadband expansion, all while paying off over $1 billion in debt and setting aside money for the next rainy day.
Even after making historic investments in Hoosier priorities and reducing debt, we aren’t done yet. Looking ahead, lawmakers are already discussing additional tax cuts and reforms to keep more money in the hands of Hoosiers.
More information about the automatic taxpayer refund is available on my website at in.gov/h74. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at 317-232-9802 or [email protected].
State Rep. Stephen Bartels, R-Eckerty, represents House District 74, which includes portions of Spencer, Dubois, Perry, Crawford and Orange counties.