INDIANAPOLIS—Today, the State Auditor released the Fiscal Year 2021 closeout information, which provides details on the financial status of the state. This information shows that in the last three months, general fund revenue came into the state $1.2 billion higher than was forecasted in April. There is now $2.6 billion in the general fund, enough to trigger the automatic tax payer refund. Assistant Democratic Leader and Ranking Minority Member on the Budget Committee Eddie Melton (D-Gary) issued the following statement regarding this news:

“While the state of Indiana’s fiscal status may be good, this doesn’t necessarily reflect the financial wellbeing of Hoosier families,” Senator Melton said. “Instead of sitting on this pool of taxpayer money, I encourage Governor Holcomb to invest in the people of Indiana. I encourage him to direct funds toward statewide Pre-K access to show real progress on addressing the child care crisis exacerbated over the last year, and give our families access to early-childhood education so they can afford to go back to work.

“I also urge the governor to follow the lead of Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky and Ohio who are all waiving the payback of Unemployment Insurance benefits distributed to recipients in error. Hoosiers shouldn’t have to worry about paying back funds they received through no fault of their own and which they have likely already spent to keep their mortgage paid and lights on. The COVID-19 pandemic put our families through many economic struggles, and we should use this money to continue uplifting Hoosiers in a way that helps them get back to work, care for their families and catch up on bills.

Sen. Melton also provided comment on the automatic tax payer refund.

“Our statute requires an automatic tax payer refund when revenues exceed a certain limit. Since we exceeded that amount, eligible tax filers in Indiana can expect a tax refund in 2022. The last time revenue amounts triggered a refund was in 2012. The payments were $111 to single filers and $122 to joint filers. The amount eligible Hoosiers will receive next year will depend on the number of tax returns filed.”