by Dave Kitchell
Glancing through a report by the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute can raise some eyebrows for those of us from Cass County.
The report, which follows the flow of most state tax dollars from the taxpayers who pay them back to the counties where taxpayers reside, has Cass ranked No. 1 in state dollars received per capita. That’s right. Our fellow Hoosiers are giving each one of us more money than any other county – $1,944.11.
This report should go a long way in dispelling myths that Cass residents are propping up the state economy with all the farm income and accrued wealth taxes we’re sending to Indianapolis. In fact, the opposite is true. We might be viewed by some in other counties as state revenue gluttons at the trough of state government spending.
Of course, some separation of the facts is in order. One of those facts is that Cass is one of 70 counties that receives more in state tax dollars than it contributes. Neighboring Howard County is one of only two counties that receives the same amount it contributes. Every other county bordering Cass receives more in state dollars than it contributes.
Keep in mind there are reasons why Cass ranks No. 1 in state revenue received. It receives state tax dollars to operate a state hospital that operates 24/7. It receives state tax dollars to operate two juvenile detention facilities 24/7. It has a state highway garage. Cass also is one of the smallest counties with three courts, which has salaries paid by the state.
The state hospital and juvenile detention centers in particular are misleading uses of state tax dollars. Sure, the facilities may be located here, but the residents who benefit are really residents from throughout Indiana, not just Cass. In that respect, the county’s No. 1 ranking is both dubious and distorted.
One reason the ranking is what it is could be explained with the sales tax, which represents the largest share of state revenue (44.5 percent). Cass has one mall and a few shopping centers, but lacks the mega, big box stores and restaurants usually found on interstates and in urban areas and some less populated counties located on interstates. The second highest revenue generator is the income tax (31 percent), and Cass personal income is below the state average. The third largest state tax revenue generator is the gas tax (5.7 percent), and given the historically high gas prices in Logansport, it stands to reason that consumers are shopping elsewhere, such as Peru and Delphi, for better deals at the pump.
If Cass taxpayers should feel fortunate that they give fewer tax dollars per capita than any other county, residents in surrounding counties should note they’re not far behind. Miami ranks 89th, Pulaski ranks 50th, Carroll 47th, White 46th and Fulton 43rd.
What’s the county that contributed the most per capita in state taxes? The answer may surprise you. It’s Vanderburgh, where a riverboat casino in Evansville has to artificially jack up the revenue.
Most Hoosiers might have guessed Marion County would be No. 1 because of Indianapolis, but Marion actually ranks seventh.
Surprisingly, little Steuben County at the northeast corner of Indiana ranks eighth, primarily because its gas and cigarette tax collections are propped up because of higher taxes on both items in bordering Michigan and Ohio.
For all Tippecanoe County has going for it with one of the nation’s largest universities, one of the state’s largest malls, Caterpillar and Subaru plants, it ranks only 18th per capita in net state tax contributions. Kosciusko (Warsaw) and Elkhart, which has the nation’s highest unemployment rate, both rank ahead of Tippecanoe.
As April 15 approaches, it’s worth noting that even though state taxes aren’t close to what most of us will pay in federal income taxes, we’re still generating plenty of state revenue at the local level. Those numbers in 2009 were $32.9 million in Carroll, $64.9 million in Cass, $35.3 million in Fulton, $48.5 million in Miami, $24.1 million in Pulaski and $44.6 million in White. The state collects an estimated $13.67 billion in taxes, not including some minor revenue that is difficult to track.
What can be tracked is household income and there is a stark contract between the Indianapolis region and the rest of the state. Per capita household income for the entire state is $33,002, but it’s only $31,183 for areas outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area and $28,625 for rural areas.
Your tax dollars at work? If you live in Cass County and most of the counties in the Logansport area, you’re getting more than your money’s worth.
• Dave Kitchell is a columnist for the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached through the newspaper at ptnews@pharostribune.com.
