Porter amendment to increase governmental transparency defeated

Today, an amendment offered by Rep. Gregory W. Porter (D-Indianapolis) to Senate Bill 2 to increase transparency in Indiana’s tax law was defeated on the House floor. 

“Basic guardrails of transparency can help transform how state budget leaders receive timely information, therefore promoting fiscal responsibility,” Porter said. “Senate Bill 2, a good bill in which I’m the co-author, provides meaningful relief to Hoosier small businesses during tax season. This is done by creating a multi-tiered system that will cause budget numbers to look over- or under-inflated at any given moment. This amendment proposal was a commonsense measure to ensure that the most up-to-date information and appropriate benchmarks would be available at any given time to lawmakers and the public. That way, we could have been apprised of the specific revenue impact of this policy. It’s disappointing Republicans chose not to empower ourselves with this information. 

“As for the larger bill, I am disappointed this is only being enacted now. President Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act penalized small- to medium-sized small businesses in Indiana to the tune of between $50-$100 million dollars per year.

“Thirty-plus states have already enacted this ‘workaround’ to help their small businesses when it comes to their federal tax liability. Indiana is finally moving forward with fast-tracking this tax relief bill on an expedited basis. I have been asked to sponsor this bill by the author and gladly have agreed to do so.

“I remain convinced that transparency is always the way to go in the public realm, but I am nonetheless appreciative that this bill is now moving on an expedited basis to the governor's office.” 

Porter plans to vote for the final passage of Senate Bill 2 when it is heard on third reading in the House.