(Indianapolis, IN) – Governor Mike Braun says he is directing his administration to make local governments whole for any gas tax revenues missed while the ongoing energy emergency is in effect.
At the Governor’s direction, Secretary Lisa Hershman and the Office of Management and Budget will coordinate with the State Budget Agency and Department of Revenue to calculate the amount necessary to reimburse local governments for revenue missed during the gas tax holiday.
Braun says the Board of Finance will take up the transfer request on July 21, and local governments should get their payments within a week after approval.
“This is only possible because Hoosiers demand commonsense fiscal management, and we’ve delivered,” Gov. Braun said. “We are running government more efficiently and as a result, we have the resources to offer tax relief while supporting local partners.”
“The Comptroller’s Office is committed to serving as a trusted partner to Indiana’s local governments by ensuring these distributions are processed accurately and without delay,” said Comptroller Elise Nieshalla. “We understand the importance of timely revenue distributions, and we remain focused on delivering taxpayer dollars with the transparency, accountability and fiscal stewardship Hoosiers expect.”
“As State Treasurer, affordability and lowering costs for Hoosiers while providing local units of governments the tools they need to operate has been my primary focus since day one. Governor Braun’s decision to suspend the gas tax was the right thing to do,” said Daniel Elliott. “This proposal adds to that decision by making local governments whole without negatively affecting Hoosiers. It’s a great example of what sound fiscal policies can accomplish. I look forward to working with the Governor, Comptroller Nieshalla and their teams to get this done.”
Similar requests will be made at the August and September Board of Finance meetings as needed.
Local governments are expected to be made whole no later than November 1.
Meanwhile, Braun’s current gas tax holiday order expires July 7, but he says he doesn’t want to make a decision too soon.
“With what we saw happening in the Middle East, it did catapult prices down, although there have been a few breaches of the kind of ceasefire, so we’ll see,” Braun said. “I’ll make that decision right before I need to do it, extend it before the deadline would expire.”
Gas prices in Indiana have been going down. Indiana’s gas average as of Tuesday was $3.18 a gallon, according to AAA. That’s down more than 50 cents from this time last month.
(Network Indiana contributed to this story)
