Property Taxes

There’s a possibility Ohio voters could be asked to abolish property taxes next year, which would leave safety forces that rely on that revenue without funding.

Ohio voters greenlit almost two-thirds of the local property tax levies on ballots across the state Tuesday, according to the Ohio School Boards Association.

Every candidate running for Columbus City Council and Columbus City Schools Board of Education has called for reform or more oversight over tax abatements. About 1.2% of Columbus properties have tax breaks, totaling over $129 million.

For homeowners worried about skyrocketing property tax bills, a radical solution is gaining traction, but experts warn that abolishing these taxes could cause Ohio's income tax to increase drastically.

The Republican who heads the Ohio Senate’s Education committee has a plan that he says will solve the over-reliance on local property taxes to pay for education.

The Ohio House overwhelmingly passed two property tax related bills that backers say will provide more than $2 billion in tax relief over the next three years.

The Ohio House voted overwhelmingly to approve two property tax related bills similar to provisions Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed in the state budget in June.

Summer recess is in the rearview. The Ohio General Assembly faces a busy schedule this fall.

Ohioans paid $16.7 billion in property taxes last year, and those high property taxes are not leading to lots of spending by schools but instead are making up for low state spending on K-12 education.

An organizer behind a ballot issue to eliminate all property taxes in Ohio said changes that could be coming to state laws will be too late.