Is Indiana's Constitution to Blame for Property Tax Woes?

Writing in Monday's Indianapolis Star, Mark Akers suggests that the easiest way out of Indiana's current property tax mess would be to just amend the state constitution:

Studying the structure of local government is a worthwhile effort to remedy the property tax issue. But the problem stems from the Indiana Constitution. While no one likes property taxes, prior to the Indiana Supreme Court's decision that the assessed values should be market-based rather than based on depreciated values, property taxes were at least predictable and assessors didn't have to have the skills and knowledge that are now required.
So, while the remedy might include modifying local government structures and giving cities more authority to raise money(Indiana cities are among the most constrained in the U.S.), we should consider changing the constitution to allow the property tax system to work the way we want rather than make the enormous changes to local government that would be required to make enough of a difference.

Akers doesn't say anything about how you'd change the constitution to make this possible, but presumably what he's got in mind is something that effectively says "the state doesn't have to listen to court decisions that say property taxes must be based on the 'market value' of properties. Instead, they can base property taxes on whatever they want to."

Here's what is wrong with Akers' argument, in a nutshell: a properly functioning property tax must be based on market value. No tax can ever be fair unless it's properly measuring the tax base. Imagine if you and your neighbor got the exact same salary from the same company. You would hope that your state income taxes would be basically the same. Now, if your income tax was based on this year's income, while your neighbor's income tax was based on the (much smaller) amount he earned, say, 20 years ago, you'd say that was totally unfair. An updated measure of ability-to-pay is what makes the income tax fair. Ditto for the property tax. You need to know what a home is worth, right now, in order to fairly assess property tax on that home.

Indiana's current property tax woes are causing a lot of pain and unhappiness. But these are exactly the same changes that every other state has gone through when it's modernized its property tax. And it's absolutely the right thing to do in order to achieve a truly fair Indiana property tax. It will be little comfort to state residents to know that their ongoing property tax hikes are largely due to the unwillingness of state lawmakers to fix property tax inequities previously. But that's exactly what they need to know.