Illinoisans Watch As Indiana Refunds Every Taxpayer From Surplus

If you're a long-time Illinois resident like I am, it's understandable that you might have a bit of trouble with the last word in the headline. You've heard the word before, but it's been so long.

Long forgotten here in Illinois, a surplus is when extra money is left over in a budget after expenses are paid. We are very familiar with the word deficit, which is what happens when a governing body spends more money that it collects in revenue.

Which Brings Us To Indiana And What They're Planning To Do

In Indiana, their cash reserves (or, surplus) rose to a record $3.9 billion as of the end of June of this year. According to WGN-TV, Indiana's overall state tax revenue grew 14% during the past budget year.

Indiana also has something called an automatic taxpayer refund process that kicked in with the tax revenue growth, meaning that tax-paying Indiana residents are due some money back. Granted, it's not life-changing money at $125, but it's more than many other states' residents are going to see. The governor of Indiana wants to make that refund a direct payout rather than a credit on the tax returns of residents next year.

WGN-TV:

The state refund law’s calculation directs that $545 million be refunded to taxpayers as that process was triggered for the first time since 2012.

“We did the right thing by putting a formula together that would send that money back if it hit a certain limit,” Holcomb said.

The $125 refunds would be sent by direct deposit or check depending on how the taxpayer files their state tax return, the governor’s office said.

There Is A Guy In Illinois Watching This Who Could Pull That Kind Of Money Out Of His Couch Cushions

But he's currently looking at Illinois' numbers, which would explain the facial expression.

PJStar.com reports that the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget says that without significant new revenue, spending cuts or a combination of both, Illinois will face a budget deficit of $3.9 billion in the current fiscal year and continuing deficits of $4 billion or more in each of the next five fiscal years.