A group that wants to end the taxation of property in Ohio received the go ahead to start collecting signatures to get the constitutional amendment in front of voters.
The Ohio Ballot Board approved the application on Wednesday. The group has to collect more than 400,000 signatures from at least half of Ohio's 88 counties before the measure can move forward.
Taxes on properties pay for several things in Ohio, including libraries, social services, police, fire and parks. Most of the generated funds go to schools.
Stinziano said it's true that property owners have seen big increases in tax bills in some districts, but this is the type of change the state needs.
"Nothing's more frustrating than folks getting their property tax bill and asking me what happened. And I say 'your community just voted on X, Y, and Z.' That's where this value property increase is occurring. But I think we're at a very front end of a very long conversation that hopefully will lead to some reforms," Stinziano said.
Stinziano was a guest speaker at a Columbus Metropolitan Club forum, along with Michael Cole, president of the Columbus City Schools' board and Greg Lawson, a research fellow at the conservative think tank The Buckeye Institute.
"If you are in a school district, what is that consequence going to be when 70% of the property tax bill is funding that school district," Stinziano said. "What will it do to senior services? What will it do to the zoo? There are big consequences for eliminating that."
Lawson agreed the state needs property taxes. "I think it is actually a terrible idea. It will blow holes in budgets," Lawson said.
Lawson said the state needs to completely reform its tax system so there are fewer entities that can levy their own taxes and get rid of abatements for companies. He also said taxes should be simple and low, but applied to many things.
"(Eliminating property taxes) doesn't address the structural issues and it's easy to say, 'let's get rid of this.' The hard work is getting underneath the hood of the car and tinkering around with the engine, and really looking at all of the pieces and how they interact with each other," Lawson said.
Organizers at AxOhioTax.com state the change would force lawmakers to rewire how schools and other public services are funded into a more equitable taxing system.
Stinziano said other plans that have been proposed, like property-tax refunds if school districts have too much cash in reserve, aren't long-term solutions.
Cole said any reform needs to make schools a priority.
"We want to see a real investment in public education in a way that will make us sustainable, make us equitably sound and make us solvent over time," Cole said.
WOSU sent AxOhioTax.com an email seeking comment, but have not received a response.
