Indiana road funding has become a serious state issue and the Indiana Soybean Alliance wants to see improvements in the state’s infrastructure. House Bill 1001, a road funding bill, is advancing through the statehouse. It would provide for the transfer of the state’s excess reserves to the local road and bridge matching grant fund and the state highway fund. A gas tax increase is in the bill too. President of Indiana Soybean Alliance Joe Steinkamp says ISA is working in support of the bill.
“We’re basically in favor of the gasoline tax for the Indiana soybean farmers because we need to keep great roads and bridges here in Indiana to get our crops to market in a timely manner. So that’s something that we’re working on.”
As always ISA is keenly interested in any property tax proposals, and this session SB 308 is advancing through the state senate.
“The changes in property taxes will hopefully make it fair for soybean farmers and all farmers in Indiana,” he told HAT. “It’s about the rate of our property taxes increase and how it’s calculated and the soil productivity index, all things that are going to make a difference to soybean farmers. Our property taxes have been going up at exorbitant rates while at the same time we’re going to go through a downturn it appears in the economy for farmers. So we need to get that balance so we can have a positive bottom line.”
Steinkamp added that SB 308 does not provide a tax cut to farmers or anyone else, it merely halts the dramatic increases being assessed farmers and other land owners.