Thoughtful, Engaging, Engrossing
There was a meaty discussion about taxes in Ohio during Tuesday's virtual forum: Let's Talk Taxes! Financing Public Goods and Services in Ohio. If you missed it, you can watch it on our YouTube channel here. Senator Louis (Bill) Blessing (R-Cincinnati area) and Zach Schiller, Research Director, Policy Matters Ohio, gave a sober accounting of what has happened with Ohio taxes over the last decade. Anna Staver, Statehouse reporter, Plain Dealer/cleveland.com, moderated the discussion.
One of the most important points made was that the Ohio Legislature has been gradually decreasing the income tax rate in Ohio; so much so that municipalities have had to rely increasingly on property taxes to fund services in their communities. Because people are feeling the pinch of higher property taxes, there is a robust move to eliminate it in Ohio. No one knows where the money would come from to pay for government goods and services.
Ohio's tax system is considered one of the most complicated in the country. Blessing and Schiller brought up examples of how other states deal with taxes in a less complicated and more equitable way than Ohio.
Issues such as fairness (progressive vs. regressive taxes), impact of school vouchers on public schooling, and ways to help property owners deal with property taxes that eat up most of their income, were also discussed. If you want to learn all about taxes in Ohio, watch the video. (I was surprised how quickly the 90 minutes flew by.)
|