The drop in Pulaski County’s local income tax rate will apparently take effect a little earlier than originally planned. The drop from 3.38 to 2.85 percent will take effect tomorrow, according to the Indiana Department of Revenue.
The ordinance approved by the Pulaski County Council back in August had called for an effective date of January 1. Community Development Commission Executive Director Nathan Origer says the council adopted the ordinance earlier than required for a January 1 change, in part, to give council members a chance to make adjustments if it failed to pass on the first try, which happened in 2019. But since Indiana Code specifies when tax ordinances take effect, Origer says the state law may have superseded the county’s ordinance, causing it to take effect earlier.
Officials with the Department of Local Government Finance confirmed Wednesday that “The date that the ordinance is adopted determines the effective date.” Specifically, Indiana Code stipulates that an ordinance adopted before September 1 takes effect on October 1 of the same year.
The restructuring of Pulaski County’s local income tax rates will also mean an increase for the county’s property tax levy. With the change, Pulaski County will go from having the highest local income tax rate in the state to the third-highest, behind Jasper and Wabash. But Pulaski County’s rate would still be more than one percent higher than Starke County’s.
Pulaski County is one of two that’s lowering its income tax rate on October 1, the other being Wayne County.
