Just because Indiana is a Republican state doesn’t mean taxes will never rise. States all over the U.S. are facing substantial increases in Medicaid and employee pension costs while ignoring basic services like roads government was intended to manage. Years of “Unicorn Accounting” gimmicks have taken their toll and now bills are starting to outpace revenues. Here’s an example from Times of Northwest Indiana:

House Republicans will propose increasing taxes on cigarettes and gasoline to pay for construction and maintenance of state and local roads throughout Indiana.

He explained House Bill 1001, co-sponsored by state Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, will propose adding $1 to the state’s $0.995 existing cigarette tax to shift Medicaid health care costs attributable to smoking onto tobacco users.

Currently, only 1 out of every 7 cents collected in sales tax for each dollar of gasoline purchased goes toward roads. The remainder is deposited in the general fund used for education and nearly all other state spending.

Bosma said the legislation also will add 5 or 6 cents to the 18 cents per gallon state gasoline tax and index the gas tax to inflation.

House Speaker Brian Bosma has now decided to invent a new term in raising taxes:

“Some will say that’s a tax increase. Well, it’s a revenue enhancement,” Bosma said.

Story via Indiana Economic Digest