Odds against accelerated tax relief

Dem-led House wants Â?1-2-3Â? caps made retroactive to Jan. 1.

Dem-led House wants Â?1-2-3Â? caps made retroactive to Jan. 1.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Â? The Indiana House has advanced a proposal that supporters say would accelerate limits on tax bills and provide $200 million in property tax relief.

But donÂ?t count on seeing those savings.

The proposal is unlikely to pass the more deliberative Senate, where a Republican leader said caps on property tax bills must be gradually implemented as originally planned so that local governments can adjust to shrinking incomes.

Current law will phase in tax caps by 2010, when property tax bills on homeowners would be limited to 1 percent of their homesÂ? values, with 2 percent limits for rental property and 3 percent caps on business property. The limits for 2009 limits are 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5 percent, respectively.

The Democrat-led House voted 85-11 for an amendment Monday that would put the Â?1-2-3Â? caps into law retroactively, starting Jan. 1 of this year. They said it would save people money during the recession.

Â?It keeps $200 million in Hoosier taxpayersÂ? pockets at a time when we have over 300,000 unemployed,Â? said Rep. William Crawford, a Democrat from Indianapolis who suggested the amendment.

House Republicans derided the proposal as a Â?phony gesture.Â? But only one Republican Â? Rep. David Wolkins of Winona Lake Â? joined 10 Democrats in voting against the politically popular idea.

House Republicans said the proposal was a Â?bait-and-switchÂ? to avoid what they called the real issue: taking another step toward amending tax caps into the Indiana Constitution. Rep. Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale, said the proposal illustrated the need for more permanent taxpayer protection.

Republicans have been trying to pressure House Democrats into quickly taking another step toward constitutional property tax caps, and have set up a countdown clock displayed outside House chambers showing the time remaining to act on the matter this session.

House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, has suggested lawmakers wait until next year to consider moving toward a constitutional amendment.