In 2006, Indiana Investments, LLC announced the development of Cobblestone Crossings in Terre Haute and engaged Thompson Thrift to help subdivide and develop a Master-Planned Community. The Community sits on a 93-acre tract that has been transformed into a mixed-use development consisting of upscale multi-family apartments, condominiums, a health campus and commercial properties. 

 

Congratulations to Thompson Thrift!!

 

According to a new report, The Impact of State Income Taxes on Low-Income Families 2008, released by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), Indiana is one of six states that taxes families in severe poverty. This means a two-parent family of four earning less than three-quarters of the Federal Poverty Guidelines in 2008 ($16,513 for a family of four) pays more than $200 a year in state income taxes in Indiana.

Additionally, another important measure of the impact of taxes on low-income working families is the income tax threshold - the point below which a family owes no income tax. In 2008, Indiana's state tax threshold for a single-parent with two children was $14,500 and for a two-parent family of four was $15,500. This means Indiana is taxing low-income families that are far below the Federal Poverty Guidelines which were $17,165 for a family of three and $22,017 for a family of four in 2008. These levels are also far below the average state income tax threshold in 2008 of $21,700 for a family of three or $25,500 for a family of four. Eliminating state income taxes on working families with incomes at the Federal Poverty Guidelines gives a boost in take-home pay that helps offset high costs of living and can make a meaningful contribution toward "making work pay."

However, this report only focuses on state income taxes. The 2009 Self-Sufficiency Standard for Indiana released earlier this month by the Indiana Institute for Working Families, a program of Indiana Community Action Association, measures how much income is needed for a family of a certain composition in a specific geographic location to adequately meet their basic needs without public or private assistance. According to the 2009 Standard in Marion County, the expenses for a family of four consisting of two adults, one preschooler, and one school-aged child amount to $4,359 a month. Taxes (including federal and state income tax, payroll taxes, and state and local sales tax where applicable) for this family type amounts to 15 percent of their income, which is the third highest expense for this family type after childcare (25 percent) and housing (17 percent).  It is equivalent to the proportion of income budgeted for food.  Other expenses for this family type include transportation (11%), health care (10%), and miscellaneous expenses (8%). The tax burden on low-income families means they have less money in their pockets to pay for necessities such as childcare and transportation costs that families incur as they strive to become economically self-sufficient.
 
Some ways to alleviate this burden on low-income working families include raising the state income tax threshold to the Federal Poverty Guidelines, increasing the state Earned Income Tax Credit (Indiana's EITC is currently set at 9% of the federal EITC), increasing standard deductions and personal exemptions to adequate levels to protect families in poverty from taxation,  and enacting a "no-tax floor" (which sets a dollar level below which families owe no tax but does not affect tax liability for families above that level). A $20,000 no-tax floor, for example, means that a family making below that amount owes no taxes, but once income surpasses that level the tax is owed on all taxable income from one dollar up.
 
Given states' balanced budget requirements and current dire fiscal conditions, states will have limited opportunities to reduce taxes on low-income working families anytime soon. Nonetheless, removing the tax burden on low-income families should remain a priority for states that still have such taxes. Taxing the incomes of working-poor families runs counter to the efforts of policymakers across the political spectrum to help families work their way out of poverty. The federal government has exempted such families from the income tax since the mid-1980s, and a majority of states now do so as well.

To view CBPP's full report on state income taxes, please click here. 

 

The Arc of Indiana recently opened the COVOH Collaborative Work Lab in their new office at 107 N. Pennsylvania, Suite 800 in downtown Indianapolis. The lab honors leaders of the Council of Volunteers and Organizations for Hoosiers with Disabilities (COVOH) - Amy Cook Lurvey, Muriel Lee, and Henry Schroeder - and was made possible thanks to a generous donation from COVOH

The Collaborative Work Lab is a state-of-the-art group work environment which offers innovative technology and skilled professional staff to help groups become more collaborative, more focused and more effective.

Sessions in the lab are ideal for any group and can be used for strategic planning, interagency collaboration, focus groups, project and grant development, project evaluation, online surveys, board development and so much more.

The Collaborative Work Lab can help groups:
· brainstorm, discuss, and evaluate ideas
· categorize and organize ideas
· vote, by rank order, multiple choice or yes/no
· evaluate alternatives across multiple criteria
· identify priorities
· build consensus
· produce action-oriented deliverables
· receive follow-up reports of decisions and discussions

Each session in the lab includes pre-session planning and is individually tailored to fit the needs of the group to accomplish their goals. It also includes follow up reports after the session.

To learn more about how the COVOH Collaborative Work Lab can work for your organization, click here or contact Jill Vaught at 317-977-2375 or jvaught@arcind.org.

Scholarships are available for nonprofit organizations who wish to use the COVOH facility.  

 

Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center (INRC) celebrated its 15th Annual Meeting on October 13, with the theme, "Indianapolis Neighborhoods: Past, Present and Future".

 

Congratulations to the recipients of INRC's 4th Annual Collaborative Spirit Award: Bates Hendricks Neighborhood Association and IACED member Southeast Neighborhood Development (SEND). This annual award is given in recognition of a project that involves partnerships between neighborhood-based organizations and schools, businesses, or other neighborhood organizations, and embraces the spirit of cooperation and community involvement.

 

The 2008 Fab For Less partnership (now called Building Blocks) was a partnership between the Bates Hendricks Neighborhood Association and SEND. This partnership engaged residents in the 1400 and 1500 blocks of South New Jersey Street in visioning, planning and implementing a transformation of their two blocks.

 

Nearly 40 homes were enhanced, infrastructure was improved, even public art was installed. Many partners and funders came together and leveraged over a million dollars of investment into the community. As a result, the Neighborhood Association has experienced large increase in participation and ownership. Additionally, the establishment of the Esplanade Association insures continued activity and engagement.

 

Presently, this model is being replicated in two other neighborhoods. This partnership and the ability to replicate it demonstrates that neighborhood transformation is far more effective and sustainable when it is resident-engaged and considers all aspects of a healthy community.

 

Congratulations to Bates Hendricks Neighborhood Association and Southeast Neighborhood Development!!!