Crouch makes 'Axe the Tax' pitch in Howard County

Apr. 18—In a race where some candidates have made a strong effort to advertise themselves as "outsiders," Suzanne Crouch, one of six running to be the Republican nominee for governor, is embracing her long history as a public official.

"I'm proud of my public service," she said in an interview with the Tribune on Tuesday during a visit to Howard County.

That long career in public service includes county auditor of Vanderburgh County in 1994 then county commissioner in 2002. In 2005, Crouch made her first foray into state politics, running and winning the state District 78 seat. In 2013, she was appointed as Indiana state auditor before being chosen in 2017 by Gov. Eric Holcomb as his lieutenant governor, a position she has held since.

It's that 30 years of experience in public government and the knowledge it gave her on how to build relationships and implement policy that Crouch said gives her the advantage over her opponents.

"I'm the only one with the experience and the local and state executive and legislative levels to be able to deliver results for Hoosiers," she said. "Unlike my opponents, I don't need on-the-job training."

Other candidates vying for the Republican nomination are U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, former Indiana Secretary of Commerce Brad Chambers, business owner Eric Doden, former Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill and Jamie Reitenour.

Independent polls have consistently shown Braun with a commanding lead, but also that around 30% of voters are undecided on who they'd vote for in the primary.

Crouch's time spent as lieutenant governor saw her routinely traversing the state as head of the Office of Community & Rural Affairs, leading to many relationships with local elected officials.

That has led to her receiving more than 160 endorsements from local officials, including from Howard County Commissioner Jack Dodd; State Sen. Jim Buck, R-Kokomo; Craig Dunn, former county GOP chairperson; and most recently State Rep. Mike Karickhoff, R-Kokomo.

Crouch's campaign, which started in December 2022, has largely centered on her tentpole policy proposal of eliminating the state's income tax, dubbed by her campaign as "Axe the Tax."

Indiana's state income tax is 3.05% for 2024 and one of the lowest in the country.

Due to legislation recently passed by the state legislature, the income tax rate is planned to drop further to 2.9% by 2027.

Crouch says the elimination of the state income tax, for which she would need state legislature approval, would free up hundreds to thousands of dollars for Indiana residents. That extra money, she says, is badly needed as families are now spending more than ever on essentials due to high inflation in recent years.

The plan has been harshly criticized, though, by not only Crouch's opponents but also by policy experts and some economists.

The state's income tax brings in roughly $8 billion a year, a third of state tax revenue. Eliminating that revenue without replacing it at least in part would likely lead to cuts in public services.

Some area economists, including Michael Hicks, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University, say research shows the path forward for population and economic growth in Indiana and the Midwest is investing in quality of life and high quality public services and not a more business friendly environment.

Crouch has shrugged off much of the criticism.

"What they're really saying is the government needs more of your money, and you need less of it," she said.

Crouch said the elimination of the state income tax can't happen overnight — and the state must also have triggers in place to protect from economic downturn — but the benefits, such as increased consumer and business spending, outweigh the potential negatives.

"When we eliminate the income tax, we give people money back and they put it in the economy, we help small businesses grow and equally important, we make Indiana a no income tax state, which is where people are moving to today," she said. "They're moving to Tennessee, Texas, Florida, South Dakota, all no income tax states and all whose GDP and population is growing at greater rates than Indiana. So it's a win-win for Indiana, and I'm the only one with the political courage to say we can do it."

Since kicking off her Axe the Tax campaign, Crouch has announced a handful of cost-saving measures the state could implement, though not with any figures attached to them.

Those measures include combining or reducing some state agencies and auditing "major" agencies, combining various workforce programs across five different agencies into one, the Indiana Department of Education & Workforce and capping the amount the state budget can increase each year.

Tyler Juranovich can be reached at 765-454-8577, by email at tyler.juranovich@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @tylerjuranovich.