More than 65 groups of local elected officials, libraries, businesses and trade groups, and unions representing first responders and teachers have united against a possible amendment to abolish property taxes in Ohio. It’s likely just the beginning of a massive effort that voters would see if the group backing the amendment gets it to voters this fall.
The formation of this group comes as the all-volunteer group collecting signatures for the abolishment amendment plans an announcement next week.
The coalition Ohioans to Protect Public Services seeks to push back on the amendment effort by promoting the local services the $21.4 billion dollars in property taxes collected each year pay for.
A video on the coalition's website states if property taxes are abolished, 32,000 first responders and 50,000 teachers could lose their jobs. Ohio could go from having one of the lowest income tax rates in the country to one of the highest, the video says. And it also says the state sales tax could go to 20%, which is also predicted by Gov. Mike DeWine and other state leaders.
"The state doesn't have the ability, without significant cuts to valuable state programs, to cut $20 billion and feed that to the local governments and the local schools and all the other entities that rely on property taxes to support the local residents in their community," said Andrew Rose, the Concord Township administrator in Lake County, in an interview.
The coalition's website notes that all states have property taxes. In Ohio, they're levied locally for local services and no property tax revenue goes to state government. And the group warns that if property taxes are abolished, either the local services they pay for will be cut or the state will have to raise taxes.
"There will be a loss of control and there will likely be some significant cuts based on the fact that the state doesn't have all the available funds to do this," Rose said. "Instead of paying out of your left pocket, you're gonna be paying out of your right pocket."
"Property tax reform is encouraged. I think something needs to be done to help the low-income seniors that want the ability to stay in their home," said Rose. "But to completely abolish property taxes statewide and crush every local entity is just not a good idea.”
Brian Massie with the Committee to Abolish Ohio's Property Taxes, also known as AxOHTax, plans a press conference next week to announce the total number of signatures the all-volunteer group has collected so far. The group would need at least 413,487 valid signatures from half of Ohio's counties by July 1 to make the fall ballot, and would most likely need to collect around 700,000 signatures to cover the signatures that are rejected as invalid.
