Tax Caps: Impact on Local Government

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, AirportTax 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
Porter County Airport$46,866

(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.