INDIANAPOLIS – During the final days of the legislative session, Indiana lawmakers are negotiating a tax cut plan.

As Indiana faces a projected surplus of $5 billion this year, House Republicans have pushed for tax cuts and are now looking to bring back their proposal, which includes reducing the state’s income tax and tax cuts for some businesses.

The House-passed version of House Bill 1002 has the support of many members of the business community.

“This is a vital issue for the types of businesses that the Senate and the House are trying to attract to Indiana,” said Doug Hass of Kimball Electronics, which is based in Jasper.

Gov. Eric Holcomb is now also calling on lawmakers to cut taxes. He wants to reduce the income tax from 3.23% to 2.9%. He also wants to eliminate the utility receipts tax and the 30% business personal property tax floor on new equipment.

There’s still some hesitation from Senate Republicans, who say they would rather wait until the budget is rewritten next year.

“I think the priority needs to be taking care of our liabilities, paying down the pension liability,” said State Sen. Ryan Mishler (R-Bremen).

Meanwhile, Democrats want to take a different path compared to the House Republicans’ plan.

State Rep. Greg Porter (D-Indianapolis) said he wants to cut the state’s sales tax by at least 0.5%.

“This tax reduction will really help working families,” Porter said.

Amid the recent surge in gas prices, State Sen. Tim Lanane (D-Anderson) is calling on lawmakers to suspend the state’s gas tax.

“We know people are being hit hard in the pocketbook and they’re going to continue for apparently the near future,” Lanane said.

So far, there’s no indication that cuts to either the sales tax or gas tax will be included in the final proposal.

The bill needs approval by the conference committee before it can head to the floors of the House and Senate for a final vote.