Property Tax caps labeled "cap gap"

First I'll direct your attention to two posts, one from the Times Lake officials complain of cap gap, and the next by conservative writer Buzzcut New Phrase "cap gap" on the issue.

A couple salient points and then some interaction here on our intentions going forward for local government in Indiana.

• Some Lake County property tax payers were paying an unbelievably high rate, close to 10% of the value of the property. This means that homeowners with 30 year mortgages would have been paying the value of their home in taxes every ten years. Somewhere no matter your political persuasion that has to ring as a wrong.
  
• The legislature did indeed pass tax caps to 1% for residential, 2% for rental, and 3% for commercial properties, and this did create a "gap" between what government would normally have levied and what it will get. This gap has created much consternation for local government officials, but the legislature also allowed a few years to transition to these lower revenues.
• Many local government entities have been raising fee income to make up some of those lost potential revenues. These fees are much easier to understand and frankly much easier for the voters to disagree with than were opaque property taxes, mainly difficult for the average citizen to figure out.

There are some who would make the case that it is unfair to tax different types of property at different rates. Why should a small business property pay 3% of their market value and a home only 1%? Be careful what you wish for, especially those that voted against the constitutional amendment to make the caps permanent. What if the rates were leveled to 1.5% for all property types? If you think the "cap gap" is big now, just wait.