The Republican candidate for governor has said he wants to roll back property taxes to pre-pandemic levels and then cap their growth, starting with his first budget next year. Vivek Ramaswamy’s plan seeks to provide property tax relief to frustrated homeowners, but a progressive think tank said it will likely mean billions in cuts to local services.
Innovation Ohio researchers analyzed that proposal, though Ramaswamy didn't identify a specific rollback point.
"We did our best guess there and said approximately 2021 because that's before we saw really these larger spikes in property values and the tax payments that come with them," Innovation Ohio president Michael McGovern said in an interview.
McGovern said Innovation Ohio's study showed rolling back to 2021 levels would mean a cut of $4 billion per year in Ramaswamy's first two-year budget if he's elected. In his second budget, that would grow to $6.6 billion a year, or about 60% of the revenue generated by the state income tax—which Ramaswamy also wants to eliminate.
“That's cuts to our schools, meaning bigger class sizes, eliminating programs, not keeping buildings up," McGovern said. "That's cuts to local safety programs. That means police and fire are going to get defunded."
Ramaswamy has said the money for his plan will come from downsizing government and growing Ohio’s population to 15 million. That's a 36% increase, though it’s unclear whether that would be over four or eight years. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the fastest-growing state between 2024 and 2025 was South Carolina, which saw its population rise by 1.46%.
Democratic candidate Amy Acton has proposed tax cuts that are targeted toward middle-income homeowners, such as raising the income limit for the homestead tax exemption and credits of up to $1,000 for certain homeowners with property tax bills that rise more than 4%. She's also called for complete implementation of the Fair School Funding plan. It’s estimated schools lost $2.75 billion when lawmakers didn’t fully fund it in the current budget.
