More than 15% of properties in Franklin County have some sort of tax break attached to it, leaving about $200 million of revenue off the table for schools and other taxing agencies that rely on the money, according to a new report from the Franklin County Auditor's Office.
Columbus is the largest user of tax abatements, tax increment financing and community reinvestment zones. Communities give the properties a break on their taxes, usually for a 10-15 year period. Sometimes, the deals let the owners forgo all of their property taxes. Other times, only a percentage of property taxes are forgiven.
Two economists hired by the auditor for the 2025 Tax Incentive Review Council (TIRC) report took the closest look at the use of these tools since 2017. The report found that since a 2017 study by the Lincoln Institute, it appears that while tax incentive application has increased significantly throughout the county, the incentives are becoming less effective or are not being utilized effectively by the local municipalities who create them.
The study was done by Ohio State University economics professor Mark Partridge and Ohio River Valley Institute senior researcher Nick Messenger.
The pair concluded municipalities should "seriously consider whether the costs of property tax incentives may now outweigh the purported benefits, as our research suggests."
The annual cost of these incentives amounted to $192 million in diverted or foregone revenue. Taxing agencies like Columbus City Schools are left to deal with that loss of potential revenue without much of a say in approving the abatements.
CCS lost out on $84 million in potential revenue this year. The school district was just forced to cut $50 million to address a budget deficit. Each community has one of these TIRC councils, which are tasked with oversight and review of these incentives.
"We're umpires calling balls and strikes, reviewing the information that's provided, but it's up to those local municipalities to take the recommendations, modify, and then moving forward, figuring out what the commitment and impact, the incentives diverting has to their local governments," Stinziano said.
In early November, Columbus' TIRC recommended several incentives either be rescinded or drawn back. Columbus City Council largely agreed with the recommendations, withdrawing three agreements with companies because the projects didn't produce a promised number of jobs.
Stinziano calls tax incentives a tool in the toolbox for economic development. He said their use will continue to grow.
"I think that we will continue to see incentives proliferate across the county. I think that there continues to be key economic factors, job growth and particularly with some of the changes to both state and federal law, a need for that economic development to continue," Stinziano said.
WOSU interviewed Columbus' Dept. of Development Director Michael Stevens in November after almost every candidate in the recent Columbus City Council and Columbus City Schools board elections expressed concern over the use of tax abatements.
Stevens also defended its use, saying that CCS and other agencies still get revenue off of the vacant plots of land. The tax revenue that is foregone comes from the new construction from developments that the city is trying to encourage.
Stevens said some projects, like renovating the downtown YMCA building into affordable housing, wouldn't be able to happen without incentives or more direct public assistance funding from bonds or city revenue.
Others like the winning and losing candidates in this year's city and school elections criticized the city's use of tax abatements. Former Columbus mayoral candidate Joe Motil is one of the tool's biggest critics.
The report casts doubt on Stevens' argument. It states projects that occur outside of tax-abated zones of the city don't appear any less successful. The report said there was no trend-breaking job growth in Community Reinvestment Zones.
Stinziano, who previously served on Columbus City Council, said he hopes Columbus City Schools start speaking up if they have concerns. Stinziano also said when he was on Columbus City Council, he never heard from board members about these tax breaks.
"While Columbus is the largest, by no means are they the only one that has to have those relationships with their school board and figuring out solutions moving forward," Stinziano said.
