Ohio
Read the Report in PDF Form The Census Bureau released data in September showing that the share of Americans living in poverty remains high. In 2013, the national poverty rate was 14.5 percent, a slight drop from last years’ rate of 15 percent and the first decline since 2006.1 However, the poverty rate remains 2.0 […]
Beaver County Times: Taxes May Be Biggest Burden Facing Aliquippa
August 28, 2014
By Tom Davidson, The city still bustles with traffic now and then, although most of it’s just passing through town. On Thursday afternoon, Mayor Dwan Walker and City Manager Sam Gill took a drive through Aliquippa, starting at what they call the east end corridor between the Ohio River and Route 51 where the Jones […]
Policy Matters Ohio: Out-of-Step
August 26, 2014 • By ITEP Staff
Changes to the Ohio EITC this summer doubled the credit, but poor design choices mean that most low-income working families won’t get the benefit. Read the full report
Akron Beacon Journal: After a decade of tax cuts in Ohio
August 25, 2014
“Zach Schiller of Policy Matters Ohio has assessed the broad impact of the changes, with the help of the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy, a research group in Washington. In a report released this week, he found that as a result, the state has experienced a net decrease in revenue of $3 billion a […]
The Toledo Blade: Tax Shift and Shaft
August 20, 2014
By the Editorial Board: Nearly a decade ago, Ohio placed a fateful bet: that big tax cuts, especially for the state’s richest people and corporations, would generate strong job creation, economic growth, and revenue increases. That mostly hasn’t happened. Columbus’ tax-cut scheme — which costs about $3 billion a year — has forced huge reductions […]
Policy Matters Ohio: The Great Ohio Tax Shift
August 18, 2014 • By ITEP Staff
Tax overhauls in the past nine years have slashed average tax bills for the top 1 percent by more than $20,000, while the bottom three-fifths pay more as a group. Read the full report
Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform
August 5, 2014 • By Meg Wiehe
Sales taxes are an important revenue source, comprising close to half of all state revenues in 2013. But sales taxes are also inherently regressive because the lower a family's income, the more of its income the family must spend on things subject to the tax.
For much of the last century, estate and inheritance taxes have played an important role in helping states to adequately fund public services in a way that improves the progressivity of state tax systems. While many of the taxes levied by state and local governments fall most heavily on low-income families, only the very wealthy pay estate and inheritance taxes. Recent changes in the federal estate tax, however, culminating in the "fiscal cliff " deal of early 2013, have forced states to reevaluate the structure of their estate and inheritance taxes. Unfortunately, the trend of late has tended toward weakening…
Toledo Blade: Comfort the comfortable
July 21, 2014
“According to an analysis done for the progressive advocacy group Policy Matters Ohio by the nonpartisan Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy, fully half of this year’s $400 million tax cut will go to the top 5 percent of Ohio taxpayers. Ohio’s 1 percent — those with average annual incomes of more than $1 million […]
Public News Service: Ohio’s Affluent Benefit Most From New Tax Cuts
July 10, 2014
“Cutting the income tax does little for the poorest Ohioans because they don’t have much income-tax liability to begin with, Schiller said. As they review current tax breaks, Schiller said, state leaders should restore and expand funding to local governments, schools, and health and human services, all of which he said would improve communities and […]
Policy Matters Ohio: Cuts and Breaks
July 7, 2014 • By ITEP Staff
Most of the $400 million-plus in tax cuts for Fiscal Year 2015 will go the affluent. The Mid-Biennium Review also continues with an unfortunate Ohio tradition of permitting or enlarging tax benefits to special, narrow groups of taxpayers. Read the Full Report
The Plain Dealer: Ohio’s tax cuts favor the affluent, do not create jobs
July 7, 2014
Like other income-tax cuts, the latest batch favors the wealthiest Ohioans. An analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonprofit research group with a model of the tax system, found that the top 1 percent of Ohioans, who had incomes of at least $360,000 last year, will receive an average tax cut […]
Toledo Blade: Bad budget business
June 3, 2014
The progressive advocacy group Policy Matters Ohio worked with the Institution on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan organization in Washington, to analyze the Senate bill. They conclude that most of the tax relief in the measure would go to the top 5 percent of Ohioans — those who earned at least $151,000 last year. […]
Ohio Watchdog: Is Sales Tax Holiday Good or Bad for Ohio
May 30, 2014
By Maggie Thurber, May 30, 2014 Ohio is once again considering an August sales tax holiday for schools supplies and equipment, but two tax groups think it’s a bad deal for taxpayers. House Bill 450 would provide a three-day “holiday” each August. Sales and use taxes would not be charged on back-to-school clothing, school supplies, personal […]
The Columbus Dispatch: State GOP Tax Cut Would Increase Income Inequality
May 27, 2014
An analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington D.C. nonprofit, showed that the moves designed to help Ohioans beyond the top income brackets - the higher personal exemptions and earned income tax expansion - would generate only very modest savings for middle-income Ohioans and almost nothing for the poorest Ohioans
Policy Matters Ohio: Income-Tax Repeal – A Bad Deal for Ohio
April 28, 2014 • By ITEP Staff
Repealing the Ohio income tax would blow an enormous hole in the state budget. It would have to be paid for with gigantic budget cuts or major increases in other taxes. Read the Full Report
Associated Press: Missouri lawmakers pass tax cut; veto possible
April 17, 2014
(Original Post) Thursday, April 17, 2014 By DAVID A. LIEB ~ The Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Setting up a likely veto showdown, the Republican-led Missouri Legislature gave final approval Wednesday to an income-tax cut for millions of individuals and thousands of business owners that Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon warned could imperil funding for […]
Springfield News-Sun: Benefits of tax proposal plan debated
April 11, 2014
Information from the Institute on Taxation and Economic policy showed the top 1 percent of Ohio taxpayers would receive about $2,847 in tax cuts, but Schiller said residents making between $34,000 and $54,000 a year would only see a tax break of about $13.
Policy Matters Ohio: Kasich Tax Plan- Advantage, Top 1 Percent
March 18, 2014 • By ITEP Staff
Gov. John Kasich’s new tax proposal would deliver annual tax cuts averaging more than $2,800 to the top 1 percent of Ohio taxpayers while those in the bottom two-fifths would pay more on average than they do now. Read the Full Report
The State: Duke Energy paid no federal income taxes from 2008-2012
February 28, 2014
(Original Post) BY RICK ROTHACKER The Charlotte Observer February 26, 2014 Charlotte-based Duke Energy is among 26 profitable Fortune 500 companies that didn’t pay any federal income taxes from 2008 to 2012, according to a new report on corporate taxes. Among all industries, gas and electric utility companies had the lowest effective rate, at 2.9 […]
Policy Matters Ohio: The Sorry State of Corporate Taxes
February 26, 2014 • By ITEP Staff
Two Ohio companies — American Electric Power and FirstEnergy — were among the 26 major companies that in the aggregate paid no federal income tax over the five-year period between 2008 and 2012. Most companies included in this new study aren’t paying anywhere near the statutory 35 percent tax rate. Read the Full Report
Toledo Blade: Gov. Kasich says it’s his duty ‘to serve everyone,’ so why is he proposing another unneeded, unequal tax cut?
February 26, 2014
(Original Post) GOV. John Kasich launched this year’s re-election campaign with his State of the State address Monday night. The speech was designed to — and did — appeal to his core political constituency. Whether other Ohioans were equally persuaded by his insistence that “I’m your governor” is questionable. Mr. Kasich asserted during his message […]
The Columbus Dispatch: Income tax cut, sales tax expansion debated
February 26, 2014
(Original Post) By Jim Siegel The Columbus Dispatch Tuesday February 12, 2013 2:22 PM Ohio Tax Commissioner Joe Testa told lawmakers today that the expansive tax overhaul package proposed by Gov. John Kasich will make a fundamental shift from a reliance on income taxes to a consumption tax. “High income tax rates are toxic to […]
Toledo Blade: Whose tax cut?
February 20, 2014
(Original Post) The latest scheme to cut state income tax rates would favor the rich, increase inequality, and harm basic services Gov. John Kasich and many members of the Republican-controlled General Assembly will campaign for re-election this year largely on their efforts to cut Ohio’s personal income tax yet again. Voters — at least middle-class […]
Cincinnati City Beat: Kasich’s Tax Proposal Favors Wealthy
February 18, 2014
(Original Post) February 14th, 2014 By German Lopez | News | Posted In: News, Economy, Governor Proposal would let poor buy a slice of pizza, while top 1 percent could buy a trip to Italy Gov. John Kasich’s income tax proposal would disproportionately favor Ohio’s wealthiest, an analysis from Policy Matters Ohio and the Institute […]
