Capital Comments

Purdue ag economist of Larry DeBoer has been writing Capital Comments once a month for 25 years. Last month marked the 300th column. Let’s do one more, number 301. And let’s look back.

The Indiana General Assembly passed a bill to reform property taxes back in April. If the legislature makes no changes — a big if — we know what’s going to happen each year until 2031. Purdue ag economist, Larry DeBoer, predicts what the next six years of property taxes could look like.

The Indiana Constitution of 1851 had a very broad idea of what should be taxed by the property tax. Basically: tax everything. When the policy proved impractical, exemptions were added. It was the beginning of a trend. Purdue ag economist, Larry DeBoer, explains the most recent tax exemptions and how we got there.

It’s been hard to follow the many impositions, cancellations, negotiations and pauses in tariff policy. Purdue ag economist, Larry DeBoer, explains what tariffs are and how they might affect businesses and the consumer. Capital Comments reflects and contains agricultural economics Professor Emeritus Larry DeBoer’s analysis and views.

Indiana uses an assessment standard for property taxes called “market value in use.” The assessment is the value of the property decided by the county assessor for tax purposes. It’s a prediction of what the house could sell for, on the open market, if it continues in its current use. How much would a stranger pay for your house, if they want to live in it, and not convert it to some other purpose...

Sometimes taxes cost more to collect than the revenue they generate. Back in 2015, the Indiana General Assembly recognized one example. Purdue ag economist, Larry DeBoer, explains the personal property tax exception and how it's evolved over the past decade.

The governor signed Senate Bill 1 into law on April 15, 2025. The property tax impact of this bill has been talked about a lot. But the bill also makes big changes in the second most important local tax — the local income tax, or LIT. Purdue ag economist, Larry DeBoer, explains.

Each spring the county treasurer reminds us just how complicated the Indiana Property Tax is, by mailing form TS-1, “Taxpayer and Property Information.” It’s a one-page summary of how they get from the assessed value of your house to the amount you owe on your property tax bill. Listen to learn about what's coming to your mailbox soon!

The Indiana General Assembly is debating property tax reform.  Senate Bill 1 is a focus of the debate.  The original bill introduced in January included the new Governor’s campaign promises for property tax relief. Get insights from Ag Economist, Larry Deboer.

Property taxes on farmland went up a lot in 2023 and 2024. They’ll be going up a lot in 2025 too.  The reason is the rise in the base rate of farmland. The reason that’s been rising is the pandemic. Economist, Larry Deboer, gives the details in this month's Capital Comments.

The holiday season is here, and with it a chance to read or watch Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol . Listen to learn the strange connection between Ebenezer Scrooge, "surplus population" and British economist Rev. Thomas Malthus. Purdue ag economist, Larry DeBoer, explains.

Suppose we want to cut property taxes for homeowners. How could we do that? Purdue ag economist, Larry DeBoer, explains.

Last week the Federal Reserve changed its interest rate policy. What did the Fed do, and why? Purdue ag economist, Larry DeBoer, explains.

How do we know if a recession has started?  Sometimes it’s obvious.  In March 2020 during the pandemic emergency, weekly applications for unemployment insurance jumped from 200,000 to 6 million.  There was no doubt we were in a recession. More often, it’s hard to know if a recession has begun. Ag Economist, Larry Deboer, explains.

Closeout day in the Indiana State House is near and dear to the number crunchers among us.  That’s the day the State Comptroller and the State Budget Agency tell us about revenues, expenditures and balances for the just-ended fiscal year. 

Ag economist, Larry DeBoer, breaks down the ups and down of Indiana's property tax policy.

Purdue agricultural economist, Larry DeBoer, posits what could happen to Social Security in this episode of Capital Comments.

It was printed in bold letters on the front of the envelope. “Open Immediately. Property Tax Notice Enclosed.” It was the annual property tax bill on my house! I remembered last year:  a jump in my tax bill of 31 percent.  I tore open the envelope and found the page of numbers showing how my tax bill was calculated. The taxable assessed value of my home went up only 3 percent this year. Last year...

Let’s think about the economy in the simplest possible way. People use tools to make goods and services, which other people buy. Gross domestic product is our measure of the value of goods and services. It grew 2.5 percent above inflation in 2023. We can use the simple view of the economy to figure out why GDP grew this much, and what will make it grow in the future. 

Last year Indiana homeowners were hit with property tax bill increases averaging 17 percent, an extraordinary increase. Will it happen again in 2024? Let’s compare 2023 to what we know about 2024 so far, and take a guess.

The memo was posted at the end of December, on the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance website. It announced the base rate for farmland at $2,280 per acre for property taxes in 2025. That’s up 20 percent from this year’s $1,900. It will be the third straight year of big increases. The base rate rose 16 percent from $1,290 in 2022 to $1,500 for 2023, and 27 percent to $1,900 for 2024.  W...

Consumer price index Inflation ran at 2.1 percent per year from 1997 to 2019. Then came the pandemic recession and recovery. Inflation dropped to 1.3 percent in 2020—including 3 months of deflation, when prices were falling—then soared to 8 percent in 2022, the highest inflation rate in 40 years. The peak month was in June that year, when consumer prices averaged 8.9 percent higher than in June of...

The second installment for 2023 property taxes was due earlier this month. If you’re a homeowner, either you sent a check to your county treasurer or your bank paid the tax out of escrow. Homeowner tax bills were especially painful in 2023. Statewide average homestead tax bills went up 17 percent over 2022, a much bigger increase than in years past. So we wonder, now that 2023 is done, what will h...

Election Day is coming up, and 12 Indiana school districts have put property tax referendums on the ballot. Voters who own homes will want to know, “How much will I pay if the referendum passes?”    Here’s how to make a good guess.

Indiana has an individual income tax to help pay for state services. Indiana raises about $8 billion a year from its state income tax, which is 36% of total general fund revenues. Most states have income taxes, but eight states do not. Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington (state) and Wyoming do not collect individual income taxes to fund their state governments. How...