Poll Places Emphasis on Lowering Corporate Tax

Indiana has, in non-technical terms, a pretty darned good business tax climate. The organization I work for, the Indiana Chamber, can take at least some of the credit for that with various reform measures it has helped move through the legislative and regulatory process over the years.

One of the few blemishes, however, has been a corporate income tax rate that ranks among the top 10 in the country. Legislation is on the table to reduce that rate from 8.5% to 6.5%. If it takes place right away, a corresponding elimination of some tax credits will make it revenue neutral — in other words, no impact on the state budget. The talk lately has been a potential four-year phase-in, starting in 2013. Either way, the move would be a good one for both attracting and retaining well-paying jobs in our state.

Our most recent poll question asked how important this tax reduction would be to your organization. Based on the responses, pretty darned important. Two-thirds of you answered "5" or "4," with five being the most important on the five-point scale. Less than one-quarter (23%) answered "1" or least important, likely due to having a tax status that would not benefit from the reduction.

C corporations would realize the savings. And while the word corporation is in the name, that indicates the tax status — not the size of the business. A vast majority of the C corporations in the state are small businesses, ones that would truly benefit from the reduction.

The upper right corner of this page has our new poll question, asking which of four legislative priorities the Chamber should continue to pursue. As always, we appreciate your input.