renters vs. owners?

From Lesley Stedman Weidenbener in yesterday's C-J, a story on polling results about property taxes...

A statewide poll has found that most Hoosiers don't want to pay higher income taxes, even if the money is used to reduce their property-tax bills.

About 44 percent of respondents to the poll paid for by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce said they oppose paying a local income tax to reduce property taxes, while 40 percent said they support the idea. Sixteen percent said they were uncertain...

At first, I thought this was another no-brainer: people don't like taxes--but enjoy some of the benefits of taxes. This would be the flip side of the politicians common approach to things: talk about the benefits but not the costs (as the recent KY gubernatorial candidates comments about the bridge).

Then, it occurred to me that this might be renters (who perceive that they would gain-- from transferring property tax burdens to other taxes) vs. owners (who perceive that they would lose). It'd be interesting to survey people based on their housing status...

Other findings:

Fifty-six percent said they believe the property-tax situation in Indiana to be a crisis, while 34 percent said it is an important issue but not a crisis. A combined 8 percent said it was a minor issue or no issue at all, and 2 percent were uncertain.

Thirty-eight percent said the Indiana General Assembly bears the most responsibility for developing a solution to high property taxes. Twenty percent of respondents said voters have the responsibility, 16 percent said the governor, 13 percent said local governments, 2 percent said schools, and 11 percent were either uncertain or had other answers.

So, most believe it's a crisis. Interesting...and a good sign if one wants some sort of (significant) reform to come out of this continuing problem.

And most people (now) blame the legislature. A previous survey blamed the governor (somehow) more than the legislature.