Property Taxes

The group wanting Ohio voters to abolish property taxes almost certainly will fall short of the fall ballot, even though the deadline to submit signatures is over two months away.

More than 65 groups of local elected officials, unions representing first responders and teachers and others have united against a possible amendment to abolish property taxes in Ohio.

Monday is the deadline to register to vote in the May primary, and affordability will be a big issue in the campaigns for governor.

As volunteers work to gather hundreds of thousands of signatures to ask voters to abolish property taxes in Ohio, concerns about soaring sales taxes are coming to light.

Of the nearly a thousand bills that were introduced in the Ohio legislature this year, around 50 deal with property taxes.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed several bills related to capping property tax hikes, restricting marijuana and intoxicating hemp and requiring absentee ballots arrive by election day.

A Franklin County Auditor's Office report authored by two independent economists found the use of the tax incentives may be losing their effectiveness while limiting revenue from schools and other taxing agencies.

Republican sponsors said the four property tax bills add up to $2 billion in tax relief, but opponents said they were rushed and lawmakers could do more for Ohio homeowners.

A Republican-backed bill would raise the voter approval threshold for property tax levies for Ohio schools and local services from a simple majority to 60%.

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.