Indiana's tax caps -- known as Circuit Breaker credits -- can save taxpayers money on their property tax bills. But if taxpayers see their bills cut, what happens to the lost revenue?
Local government units must absorb the loss. They may be able to offset the lost revenue through other funding sources, such as county income taxes. Or, they might have to cut back on their budgeted spending.
Based on the County Auditor-prepared tax abstract, the tax loss throughout Porter County due to Circuit Breaker credits totaled just over $13 million in 2020. Here is a look at how individual tax units were impacted (numbers are rounded):
| County, Town, School, Library, Airport | Tax Cap Loss |
|---|
| Porter County government | $2,207,532 |
| Beverly Shores town | $37,431 |
| Burns Harbor town | $243 |
| Chesterton town | $698,586 |
| Dune Acres town | $7,063 |
| Hebron town | $104,963 |
| Kouts town | $1,669 |
| Ogden Dunes town | $70,308 |
| Pines town | $214 |
| Portage city | $2,129,676 |
| Porter town | $442,088 |
| Valparaiso city | $2,017,925 |
| Boone Township Schools | $273,609 |
| Duneland Schools | $924,724 |
| East Porter County Schools | $219,321 |
| Portage Township Schools | $1,716,275 |
| Porter Township Schools | $2,463 |
| Union Township Schools | $3,350 |
| Valparaiso Schools | $802,075 |
| Porter County Library | $271,340 |
| Westchester Public Library | $190,192 |
(Not shown: townships, TIF districts)
For more details on the loss to individual funds within each Porter County taxing unit in 2020, click on the 2020 state report, Circuit Breaker Report.