A new study shows Indiana has one of the best tax climates in the country, despite the fact lawmakers increased gas taxes and other fees in order to pay for roads last session.
Indiana has the 9th most competitive tax code in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation’s newly-released 2018 State Business Tax Climate Index.
This annual report measures how well each state’s tax code is structured, analyzing over 100 tax variables in five different tax categories: corporate, individual income, sales, property, and unemployment insurance.
The Index ranks states based on their tax structure, not their tax burden. States with complex tax codes that distort business decisions do poorly, while states with transparent, neutral, fair tax codes score well.
Tax Foundation researcher Jared Walczak told Indy Politics that although lawmakers increased the gas tax, he says gas taxes are a good way to pay for roads because it is a dedicated funding source as opposed to coming from general revenue dollars. He also says since the state was merely keeping up with inflation, it did not have to increase taxes in other areas to pay for roads.
You can hear Walczak in the Leon-Tailored audio above. It runs about 10 minutes.
