Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)

Ohio

Policy Matters Ohio: A Fair Share Tax Could Rebalance Ohio’s Tax Code

• By ITEP Staff

A fair share tax offers Ohio a better path forward. By requiring the state’s highest-income households to contribute in proportion to their ability to pay, it would restore balance to a tax system that has increasingly favored the wealthiest.

Policy Matters Ohio: Capital Gains Tax Cuts Benefit Few Ohioans, Harms Far More

• By ITEP Staff

Ohio House Bill 617 would eliminate state and local taxes on capital gains. Fewer than 1 in 5 Ohio tax filers would benefit from a capital gains tax cut, and those benefits would primarily go to a small number of high-income households. The resulting loss of state revenue could limit funding for public investments that contribute to long-term economic growth and opportunity for all Ohioans.

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State Rundown 10/8: Ballot Debates and Gas Tax Promises Accelerate as Election Day Nears

• By ITEP Staff

As the Iran War continues to cause gas prices to rise across the country, lawmakers are stepping on the accelerator instead of pumping the brakes on costly and ineffective proposals to suspend the gas tax ahead of the November election.

Policy Matters Ohio: Gas Tax Holiday Won’t Make Ohio Affordable; Legislators Have Better Options

• By ITEP Staff

The gas tax holiday is poorly targeted tax policy that provides too little relief to the people who need it most, drains crucial resources from the state budget, and fails to confront one of the primary drivers of the affordability crisis: inadequate wages for working people. Ohioans need relief. They also deserve better than a temporary tax gimmick.

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State Rundown 9/24: States Reckon with Tightening Fiscal Futures

• By ITEP Staff

States across the nation are reckoning with their tightening fiscal futures as inflation and economic woes continue to eat into their budgets.

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State Earned Income Tax Credits Will Support Families and Workers in 2027

• By Neva Butkus

Nearly two-thirds of states (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 working class families achieve greater economic security.

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State Rundown 9/10: States Brace for (and in Some Cases Embrace) Ballots and Budgets

• By ITEP Staff

States across the country will consider a host of ballot measures that could reshape the fairness and adequacy of their states’ tax systems, while other states are receiving budget forecasts that could further shape upcoming policy debates.

USA TODAY: States are relying more on sales taxes. Here’s why that matters

July 30, 2026

Over time, some states have slashed corporate and personal income taxes while also raising the sales tax rate. In 11 states, “all three of those things have happened,” said Sarah Austin, a senior analyst at ITEP and author of the report. 

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State-by-State Tax Expenditure Reports

• By ITEP Staff

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

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State Rundown 6/4: Fiscal Flowers and Weeds Bloom in June

• By ITEP Staff

A veritable superbloom of tax and budget policies occurred over these last few weeks, including both flowers worth admiring and weeds worth fighting back.

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State Rundown 5/7: Federal Showers Make States Dour

• By ITEP Staff

The effects of last year’s federal tax and spending cuts continue to ripple through the states. With gas prices soaring due to the Iran war, some states are attempting to provide a bit of relief in the form of gas tax reductions and suspensions.

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State Rundown 4/30: Aloha to Tax Cuts, Hawaiʻi Lawmakers Address Revenue Gap with High-End Tax Changes

• By ITEP Staff

This week Hawaiʻi lawmakers reached a compromise to balance the state budget and maintain tax cuts for most residents by, in part, raising rates on the richest Hawaiians. Other states are working to generate revenue from their wealthiest residents, too.

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State Rundown 4/23: While Some States Stop Digging, Others Move Full Steam Ahead with Anti-Affordability Agendas

• By ITEP Staff

Missouri lawmakers passed legislation that will have residents vote on a proposal at the ballot box. The ask: for them to pay more in sales taxes to offset cuts – and the possible elimination – of the state's individual income tax, which makes up nearly two-thirds of Missouri’s general fund.

State Tax Watch 2026

• By ITEP Staff

ITEP tracks tax discussions in legislatures across the country and uses our unique data capacity to analyze the revenue, distributional, and racial and ethnic impacts of many of these proposals. State Tax Watch offers the latest news and movement from each state.

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State Rundown 3/26: Sobering Revenue Projections Keep States on Their Toes

• By ITEP Staff

This week, troubling revenue projections are making headlines, with many lawmakers scrambling to determine how the tax changes at the federal level, plus price hikes driven by national policy decisions, will impact their states.

Stateline: Republican Push To Increase Sales Taxes Would Fall Hardest on Lower-Income Residents

March 19, 2026

Lawmakers consider increasing sales taxes to offset budget cuts to property or income taxes. This will force lower- and middle-income residents, who spend a larger share of their earnings than the wealthy, to foot more of the bill for state services. Read more.

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State Rundown 3/12: Washington Lawmakers Pass Millionaires’ Tax, Expand Working Families Tax Credit

• By ITEP Staff

Washington is on its way to making history after the legislature approved the “millionaires’ tax,” a 9.9 percent tax on income over $1 million. The bill, which is expected to raise more than $3 billion a year, making significant investments in public education and childcare, will also expand the Working Families Tax Credit – the […]

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State Rundown 2/25: Sausage-Making Season Is Upon Us

• By ITEP Staff

National Sausage Month isn’t until October, but now is the time of year when state lawmakers are really diving into their sausage-making processes, as separate legislative houses and oftentimes political parties send competing bills, budgets, and visions back and forth to grind out their differences.

Policy Matters Ohio: The Great Ohio Tax Shift, 2026

• By ITEP Staff

ITEP’s analysis examines two categories of changes to the Ohio tax code: changes made to personal income taxes and changes made to other types of taxes. Read more.

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State Rundown 2/19: Necktie (NCTI) Offers a Way Out of a Knotty Situation

• By ITEP Staff

State lawmakers are grappling with a range of challenges as their fiscal outlooks deteriorate, federal tax enforcement wanes (after the Trump administration cut the IRS workforce by 25 percent), and a rewritten federal tax code sends states scrambling to decide what changes they might want to make in their own codes.

Mackinac Center: Lawmakers Should Reject Sales Tax Holidays

• By ITEP Staff

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy argues that tax holidays may slightly reduce the regressive nature of sales taxes but produce minimal overall benefit. Read more.

Education Week: How Do Schools Solve a Problem Like Property Taxes?

February 19, 2026

As tax season dawns, backlash to a nationwide surge in property-tax bills is spurring states to double down on proposals to diminish one of the main revenue sources for school districts. At least 10 states are pitching the end of one of schools’ chief revenue sources. Read more.

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State Rundown 2/11: This Valentine’s Day, Conscious Decoupling Is Our Love Language

• By ITEP Staff

While some may be excited for a romantic Valentine’s Day this weekend, many state lawmakers are breaking up and decoupling from recent federal tax changes that are poised to leave states with revenue shortfalls – much like a bad date who forgets their wallet and asks you to pick up the tab.

Policy Matters Ohio: Ohio Should Not Conform to Federal Tax Policies That Reduce State Revenue

• By ITEP Staff

While the General Assembly should pass a conformity bill related to federal changes made in H.R. 1, Ohio should decouple from sections that reduce revenue without benefiting the state — and that primarily advantage the wealthiest Ohioans. Read more.

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What Did 2025 State Tax Changes Mean for Racial and Economic Equity?

• By Brakeyshia Samms

The results are a mixed bag, with some states enacting promising policies that will improve tax equity and others going in the opposite direction.