Column: Balanced tax policy key to economic future

It’s campaign season, so we’re hearing about taxes. Already, Indiana candidates have proposed cuts to corporate income taxes, gasoline taxes, inheritance taxes and more.

We’d all like to pay less, but if you accept Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.’s proposition that “taxes are the price we pay for civilization,” then the equally important question is: What do Indiana citizens need from governments and how do we deliver that fairly, efficiently and effectively over time?

While taxes are often the most maligned part of government, they must support systems and infrastructure that are vital to quality of life, business development and job creation.

Despite the recession, Indiana is in a tenuous but manageable fiscal position. Its tax rates are competitive.

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