The biggest legislative undertaking of this session was to pass a biennial budget to guide the state’s spending priorities for the next two years. The final budget included many great provisions that will give our state a strong foundation for years to come. HB 1001, the budget, focused on getting more people back to work by empowering the private sector and investing in spending priorities that will bolster those efforts.
While other states are cash-strapped and moving to increase taxes on their residents, we included nearly $1 billion dollars in tax relief for Hoosiers. That’s billion with a B! Beyond that, we are paying down debt and planning future projects without increased borrowing. Once again, we prepared our state budget like you do at home. Our approach was the same one you use around your own kitchen table. We were determined to make sure that we aren’t spending more than we bring in and leave the state in better financial shape in the future than it is today.
Included in that tax relief is an elimination of Indiana’s inheritance tax once and for all. Retroactive to January 1, 2013, the budget bill ends the immoral double taxation that occurs on Hoosiers families and small businesses when a loved one passes away. Many of us fought for this cause over the past several years in the legislature and I’m proud to have voted for legislation to end this worst of all taxes for good in Indiana.
