Taxes, Taxes. More Taxes

The state is relieving itself from the local blame game of increased property tax. And in the meantime locals are scrabbling to find places to generate the needed revenue, so the tax payer won't learn that it was locals who skewed their property values and in doing so increased their property tax. One proposal is a corporation tax of 1% to fund fire and pension funds. But the chamber of commerces will be on this one before the ink dries. Fort Wayne, has another place to raid its citizens rather than businesses. It has it Allen County Food and Beverage Tax that was to serve one purpose to pay off a debt but now serves many purposes.

In 1986, the Indiana Legislature enacted the Allen County Food and Beverage Tax, which allowed a qualified “fiscal body of a county” to “adopt an ordinance to impose an excise tax, known as the county food and beverage tax,” on certain transactions according to Allen County versus Wayne Stellhorn.

The county treasurer was required to establish a “coliseum expansion fund” and to deposit all funds received from the tax in that fund upon receipt. I.C. § 6-9-23-8(a). The purposes for which the funds could be appropriated were limited to “the acquisition, improvement, remodeling, or expansion of an athletic and exhibition coliseum in existence before the effective day of an ordinance adopted under section 3 of [chapter 23]” or “to retire any bonds issued, loans obtained, or lease payments incurred under IC 36-1-10 (referred to in this chapter as “obligations”) to remodel, expand, improve, or acquire an athletic and exhibition coliseum in existence before the effective day of an ordinance adopted under section 3 of this chapter.” I.C. § 6-9-23-8(a)(1), (2).

In 1992, a request was made to build a baseball stadium. Part of the funding would come from the coliseum expansion fund, about $2 million. Constructing a baseball stadium was not the same as repairing or expanding the coliseum. This was in violation of the the 1986 legislation. The county was warned, but greed driven, the county drafted an ordinance giving themselves permission to do what it was forbidden to do under state law.

According to the News-Sentinel,

Since then, however, the tax has paid for other projects too, most notably the $30 million expansion of the coliseum’s arena in 2002.

Although details are still being worked out, the legislation would further enlarge the tax’s scope, making its revenues available for projects not on coliseum property.

Sound like a path to digging into the coliseum expansion coffer again, this time to support the Harrison Square. Especially since, taxpayers were lied to, when told that their tax dollars would not be used to build the hotel or new baseball stadium. If they are able to build the hotel, additional revenue from the innkeeper's tax could help offset the cost of the hotel, reducing the increase in property tax. To further reduce the burden on the tax payer, the new stadium will need to be built to capture the food and beverage tax to help pay for the stadium.

With all that revenue tied up, the property tax will have to be increased to support our public schools. But of course, the repairs of the schools will be blamed for the property increase. When in fact, all other revenues that could have been used for the schools are being diverted toward private developers, and that's called TIF. TIF equals millions and millions of tax dollars that could be used to improve our schools.

Now you know why Johnny and his school are so needy.