A working group looking into possible changes to Ohio’s property tax laws continues to meet, with a deadline to submit recommendations to Gov. Mike DeWine at the end of next month. But an organizer behind a ballot issue to eliminate all property taxes in Ohio says that working group is too late.
Brian Massie leads the Committee to Abolish Property Taxes, and said his group is no longer interested in talks with lawmakers or waiting to see what they approve.
"It's irrelevant to us because now, after talking to so many people throughout the state, they're saying they do not have a voice in this government. No one is worried about them," Massie said in an interview for "The State of Ohio". “We're going to get the signatures and we're going to let the citizens vote."
When asked if this means Massie's group plans to go forward no matter what lawmakers do, he responded, "No matter what. They could tell us, oh, the schools are, we're going to come up with some other funding mechanism for schools—it still doesn't matter to us.”
Republican former lawmaker Bill Seitz chairs the property tax laws working group. He said the abolishment backers know $23 billion in property taxes would have to be replaced with something.
"When you ask the proponents of this amendment, 'what would you replace that revenue with?', they're kind of elusive in their answer," Seitz said in an interview, also on "The State of Ohio". "I've heard them suggest increased income taxes. I don't really see any appetite to do that after the legislature has spent a quarter of a century reducing income taxes. Then they talk about increasing sales taxes. But you would need a statewide sales tax rate of something approximating 20% to make up for that revenue."
And Seitz added that some local entities that get funding from property taxes don't have the power to levy sales taxes.
"Townships don't, libraries don't, mental health don't, parks do not," Seitz said. "So suggesting that we raise the sales tax when those entities, many of them, don't even have authority to do a sales tax is not the smartest thing in the world to me to do."
Massie said he's concerned that the elimination of the state income tax could mean more property taxes. He estimates the state would only need a sales tax of 4.5%, but said that should include cuts and consolidation by schools, because he's "not convinced that we should replace dollar for dollar."
But he said ultimately, it's up to legislators to decide the solution.
"I thought that we were paying them to do so," Massie said. "We're saying, you don't want to be responsible to the people that elected you, and you want us to solve the problems that you have created? I don't think so."
The all-volunteer drive is trying to gather 413,446 valid signatures to make next fall’s ballot.
