HAMMOND | Gov. Mitch Daniels said Wednesday his tax relief package would be a boon to both Hoosier homeowners and merchants.

Daniels has proposed capping local property taxes as 1 percent of a home's assessed value, 2 percent of a rental property's value and 3 percent of a business's value.

Daniels defended a lower ceiling for houses. "To me homeownership is sacred." He said business taxes will be higher, but his cap would become a permanent feature of the state's constitution. "That would bring clarity and certainty for business."