Republican candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy got the endorsement of the state’s largest business lobbying group, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. At that announcement he said again that he plans to eliminate Ohio’s income tax and the tax on capital gains, which bring the state around $10.4 billion a year. And analyses have shown repealing the capital gains tax will benefit mostly Ohio's wealthiest residents.
At the event announcing the Ohio Chamber of Commerce political action committee's endorsement, Ramaswamy said in his first year in office he would move toward elimination of the state income tax. He's also planning for an end to another income-related tax.
"We will start with the first step of that march to zero income taxation with elimination of taxation on capital gains that goes into effect next year," Ramaswamy said at the press conference at a Columbus-based distributor of maintenance, repair and operations products. "Very practical, does not leave a major hole. It's only—in the scheme of our budget, I say 'only'—a few hundred million dollars. That is achievable in 2027. And that will be the first step of a longer run path at least over the next ten years or sooner to get to zero income tax in a manner that is both practical but also brings attractive economic growth and investment into our state immediately starting in 2027."
A memo from legislative researchers obtained by the Statehouse News Bureau in April showed 55.6% of the benefit would go to people making over $1 million a year. There are around 15,000 Ohioans who are in that category, including Ramaswamy, who is a billionaire. People under $200,000 a year would get 18.4% of the benefit from a capital gains tax cut. And those bringing in under $100,000 a year—which is about two-thirds of Ohio households—get 7.3% of the benefit.
Along with touting merit pay for teachers, improved academic performance and "better schools", Ramaswamy has also talked about rolling back property taxes to pre-pandemic levels. That could result in cuts in local services funded by those taxes, or more state spending to make up those losses. But Ramaswamy said cutting taxes can actually solve that problem.
"The economic growth that we bring to our state that I've spoken about here will bring in added sources of revenue that give us a financial cushion, including from a state level, to fill any gaps to ensure that important local services aren't left in the lurch during that transition as well," Ramaswamy said.
Ramaswamy's opponent had harsh words for his plans.
“Vivek Ramaswamy is an out-of-touch billionaire whose scam proposals would benefit wealthy elites while gutting funding for education and public services and raising costs for working families already struggling to make ends meet. Vivek Ramaswamy is only looking out for his billionaire buddies and himself,” said Addie Bullock, spokeswoman for the Acton campaign. “Dr. Acton will put Ohioans first by cutting taxes for working families and lowering costs."
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce has never backed a Democrat for governor in the 16 years that it's been endorsing candidates for that office. The chamber broke a longstanding tradition of not endorsing by supporting Republican John Kasich in 2010, and then backed his re-election in 2014. The chamber also endorsed Republican Mike DeWine in both of his races for governor in 2018 and 2022.
