For those people outside the States, a little background first . . . ONE of the taxes we pay in Indiana is property tax. It's a hold out from the time when Indiana was mostly farmland, and people didn't really make a regular annual income. Most of the tax revenue goes to schools, but all sorts of things get thrown in - like welfare, new library buildings, police, etc. We basically pay them once every six months.
After a court order said that the calculation for property taxes was unfair, we saw our property taxes essentially double from $1400 to $2800 four years ago. Now we've had another reassessment, and the tax is now up to $5600 for a year. That's a 400% increase in four years.
People were pissed four years ago, and many people lost their homes. This year it's going to be even worse. And oh yes, we get the bill on July 1st and it needs to be paid by the end of July.
Quiet Indianapolis has already had several demonstrations and most likely more to follow. The politicians have shown their total ignorance and irresponsibility once again - the question now is will voters remember all this in 18 months when it comes time for the election. If you figure most people don't even know the name of their representative, I'm taking a 'wait and see' attitude.
So anyway, this is a sign that's in our front yard. Of course, we wouldn't sell the house, but it makes a good political statement.
