Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Ohio

Stateline: Child Tax Credits, Long a Liberal Priority, Find Favor In Republican States

March 17, 2025

Cash would flow directly into the hands of Ohio parents under a proposal from Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. As part of multibillion-dollar budget negotiations this session, Ohio lawmakers will consider the new refundable tax credit worth up to $1,000 per young child, to be paid for by an increase in tobacco taxes.

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State-by-State Tax Expenditure Reports

March 1, 2025 • By ITEP Staff

Below is a list of tax expenditure reports published in the states.

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Learn from Prop 13 History to Avoid Repeating Past Mistakes

February 26, 2025 • By Rita Jefferson

Learn from Prop 13 History to Avoid Repeating Past Mistakes

Worries about housing costs and property tax bills are leading people to check the history books for solutions, but there’s a danger that they’ll repeat past mistakes. If anti-tax lawmakers carelessly weaken property taxes as they did in the 1970s, as they did with California’s Proposition 13, they will undercut public finances, making municipalities, school districts, and other special districts worse off.

State Rundown 2/20: Tools to Address Corporate Tax Avoidance and Property Tax Affordability

A new ITEP report finds that states could raise $19 billion a year with one policy change targeting corporate tax avoidance. That policy, worldwide combined reporting, strengthens state corporate taxation by giving states a full view of multinational corporate profits, essentially eliminating the tax savings that companies currently see by pretending their profits were earned in Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, and other international tax havens.

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Wide-Ranging 2025 State Tax Debates Come into Focus

February 20, 2025 • By Aidan Davis

Wide-Ranging 2025 State Tax Debates Come into Focus

In the face of immense uncertainty around looming federal tax and budget decisions, many of which could threaten state budgets, state lawmakers have an opportunity to show up for their constituents by raising and protecting the revenue needed to fund shared priorities. Lawmakers have a choice: advance tax policies that improve equity and help communities thrive, or push tax policies that disproportionately benefit the wealthy, drain funding for critical public services, and make it harder for most families to get ahead. 

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Turning IRS Agents to Deportation Will Reduce Public Revenues

February 11, 2025 • By Carl Davis, Jon Whiten

Turning IRS Agents to Deportation Will Reduce Public Revenues

The Trump Administration’s plan to turn IRS agents into deportation agents will result in lower tax collections in addition to the harm done to the families and communities directly affected by deportations.

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State Rundown 2/6: Tax Proposals in the Spotlight

February 6, 2025 • By ITEP Staff

State Rundown 2/6: Tax Proposals in the Spotlight

Tax changes have been proposed or are nearing the finish line in many states. Kentucky is poised to enact an income tax cut as a bill heads to the governor’s desk. In Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal called to accelerate existing corporate tax cuts while closing corporate tax loopholes by enacting combined reporting. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine proposed a new credit for children of working parents. And Virginia Democrats countered Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposed tax cuts with a plan of their own that includes an increase to the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and a one-time, nonrefundable tax…

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The (Mostly Untapped) Power of Local Income Taxes

February 5, 2025 • By Rita Jefferson

The (Mostly Untapped) Power of Local Income Taxes

Local income taxes can be an important progressive revenue raiser, as they ask more of higher-income households and are connected to ability to pay. They can raise substantial revenue to fund key public services to make cities and regions better off.

State Rundown 1/9: New Year, New Pushes for Tax Policy Changes

It’s a new year, and state legislatures across the country are resolved to write new tax policy. Tax debates are heating up nearly everywhere in the early days of 2025, but states’ fiscal situations vary dramatically. New York is considering expanding the state’s Child Tax Credit following Gov. Hochul’s proposed expansion. On the other side […]

Trump’s Plan to Extend His 2017 Tax Provisions: Updated National and State-by-State Estimates

Trump’s plan to make most of the temporary provisions of his 2017 tax law permanent would disproportionately benefit the richest Americans. This includes all major provisions except the $10,000 cap on deductions for state and local taxes (SALT) paid.

On Election Day, Voters Across the Country Chose to Invest in Their States & Communities

On election day, voters across the country — in states red and blue and communities rural and urban — approved a wide range of state and local ballot measures on taxation and public investment. The success of these measures clearly shows that voters are willing to invest in public priorities that feel tangible and close to home.

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Tax Justice in the Crosshairs

November 8, 2024 • By Amy Hanauer

Tax Justice in the Crosshairs

Billionaires and businesses have too much power in Washington. Tax revenue is needed to pay for things we all need. If we want economic justice, racial justice and climate justice, we must have tax justice.

2024 Local Tax Ballot Measures: Voters in Dozens of Communities Will Shape Local Policy

Next month, voters across the country will weigh in on many local ballot measures that will have a profound effect on the adequacy of our local tax systems and whether cities and communities can fund public needs. These are in addition to statewide ballot questions, many of which have local implications this year.  

Policy Matters Ohio: The Great Ohio Tax Shift, 2024

September 27, 2024

Major tax policy changes enacted by Ohio lawmakers since Governor Taft’s 2005 State Budget Bill ask families with the lowest incomes to pay more, the wealthy to pay less, and the state to forgo the resources it needs to ensure the prosperity of its residents. Those are the conclusions of a new analysis conducted for Policy Matters by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP).

Extending Temporary Provisions of the 2017 Trump Tax Law: Updated National and State-by-State Estimates

The TCJA Permanency Act would make permanent the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that are set to expire at the end of 2025. The legislation would disproportionately benefit the richest Americans. Below are graphics for each state that show the effects of making TCJA permanent across income groups. See ITEP’s […]

State Earned Income Tax Credits Support Families and Workers in 2024

Nearly two-thirds of states (31 plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) have an Earned Income Tax Credit. These credits boost low-paid workers’ incomes and offset some of the taxes they pay, helping lower-income families achieve greater economic security.

Sales Tax Holidays Miss the Mark When it Comes to Effective Sales Tax Reform

Nineteen states have sales tax holidays on the books in 2024. These suspensions combined will cost states and localities over $1.3 billion in lost revenue this year. Sales tax holidays are poorly targeted and too temporary to meaningfully change the regressive nature of a state’s tax system.

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Tax Payments by Undocumented Immigrants

July 30, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

Tax Payments by Undocumented Immigrants

Undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022. Providing access to work authorization for undocumented immigrants would increase their tax contributions both because their wages would rise and because their rates of tax compliance would increase.

Five Tax Takeaways from 2024 State Legislative Sessions 

Major tax cuts were largely rejected this year, but states continue to chip away at income taxes. And while property tax cuts were a hot topic across the country, many states failed to deliver effective solutions to affordability issues.

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Improving Refundable Tax Credits by Making Them Immigrant-Inclusive

July 17, 2024 • By Emma Sifre, Marco Guzman

Improving Refundable Tax Credits by Making Them Immigrant-Inclusive

Undocumented immigrants who work and pay taxes but don't have a valid Social Security number for either themselves or their children are excluded from federal EITC and CTC benefits. Fortunately, several states have stepped in to ensure undocumented immigrants are not left behind by the gaps in the federal EITC and CTC. State lawmakers should continue to ensure that immigrants who are otherwise eligible for these tax credits receive them.

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State Rundown 7/11: Mansion Taxes in the Spotlight

July 11, 2024 • By ITEP Staff

State Rundown 7/11: Mansion Taxes in the Spotlight

While Massachusetts legislators recently dropped a real estate transfer tax from their major housing bill, the District of Columbia council sent a budget to the mayor that includes a mansion tax that would increase the tax rate on properties valued over $2.5 million. Meanwhile, lawmakers in New Jersey and South Carolina continue to, respectively, raise and reduce needed revenues.

States Should Enact, Expand Mansion Taxes to Advance Fairness and Shared Prosperity

The report was produced in partnership with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and co-authored by CBPP’s Deputy Director of State Policy Research Samantha Waxman.[1] Click here to use our State Mansion Tax Estimator A historically large share of the nation’s wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few, a reality glaring in […]

State Rundown 6/13: Decisions are falling into place, but some states will come back for more

State budgets are falling into place as lawmakers near the end of their legislative sessions...

Policy Matters Ohio: Income Tax Extremism Is a Gift to the Wealthy. Repairing the Damage Would Cost Us All

June 7, 2024

Ohioans deserve an equitable tax system that supports the public goods and services that enable all of us to thrive. Unfortunately, that is not the system we have today. After two decades of tax handouts to corporations and the rich, our upside-down tax system increasingly perpetuates inequality while failing to adequately fund services like education and health care. This all pales in comparison to the extreme proposal from lawmakers that would eliminate the state’s personal income tax.

State Rundown 5/15: The Merry Merry Month of May(be)

Uncertainty abounds in state tax debates lately...