To help pay the increased postage required to mail tax statements, my office has a trial program of generating income without increasing taxes. This non tax revenue is created by businesses paying to have their advertisements inserted with the tax statement. You may recognize this means of creating revenue is also utilized by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles with inserts in the mailing of license plate renewals. The same idea has been utilized for years by public transportation selling advertising space on the sides of a bus. Our office does not endorse any business or product. I do endorse testing a program that creates income without increasing taxes.
This year, after all possible cost cutting measures were taken to contain the cost of sending out tax statements, there was still the rising cost of postage. Approximately one half of the increase in postage will be paid by this new non tax source of revenue. The inserts were placed in envelopes when the weight remained at or under one ounce so that no additional postage costs were incurred.
The majority of the feedback I have received supports using alternative funding rather than increasing taxes. I encourage and would appreciate your comments on this trial. Please use this link, remarks on inserts, to send your comments.