small business income tax cut

Budget talks between leaders of the House and Senate are being described as very positive with solid progress moving forward, but a deadline is coming Wednesday.

The six lawmakers working out the hundreds of differences between the House and Senate versions of the budget are facing some a really big one right off the top – a major split over tax cuts.

The two-year state budget is headed to a conference committee Tuesday to work out significant differences between the House and Senate versions. And there isn’t much time to deal, because the budget must be signed by Sunday night.

Republican Senate leaders say the budget they released yesterday is not the final product, but it does represent some of the changes they wanted to make to the House’s spending plan.  And more changes are coming, with the deadline to sign the budget just over two weeks away.

Gov. Mike DeWine says he wants lawmakers to erase a change made to a small business tax deduction. It allows many sole proprietorships, partnerships and other small operations to take the first quarter million dollars of their income tax free.  DeWine spoke about it before the National Federation of Independent Business Ohio.

A deduction that allows many small businesses to take the first quarter-million dollars of their income tax-free was cut back significantly in the House version of the budget. But Senators may not vote to keep that tax break.

The two year state budget has passed the House and is now in the hands of the Senate. And the head of the committee that is looking it over says he has some concerns about the spending in it.

Business groups are blasting the House version of the budget for a change it makes to a controversial tax deduction – the one that allows many small businesses to take the first quarter million dollars of their income tax free.

The two-year state budget proposed by the Ohio House includes some new tax cuts and takes away some tax breaks. 

The House version of Gov. Mike DeWine’s budget is expected sometime today, and there are big changes coming in it.  And the timeline is getting tight, since it has to pass the legislature and be signed by the end of next month.

Nine months after lawmakers created a committee to examine state tax breaks and loopholes to see which ones should be abolished or closed off, that committee finally has some members.

An income tax break for Ohio’s small businesses in recent years is under fire from Democrats and some Republicans. They say the current budget situation shows it’s time to end that tax cut.  Gov. John Kasich is firmly rejecting those suggestions.

As the state’s budget shortfall approaches a billion dollars, a tax cut adopted four years ago is getting close attention. The small business tax cut promoted by Republican leaders has saved business owners money – but has gained a lot of criticism in the process.

Senate Democrats are sounding off on the changes Republican leadership made in the House version of the state budget, which the GOP says will deal with a deficit that could be a billion dollars.

Senators will unveil their version of the state budget today – they needed to trim hundreds of millions of dollars to make sure it’s balanced. But critics are pointing to a small business tax cut as the reason the state’s tax revenues are short by nearly a billion dollars.

While members of the House say the state budget they passed is balanced, Senators are worried they’re going to have to cut as much as $400 million from it.  One research group is hoping lawmakers will look at closing some tax breaks before taking an ax to state programs.