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One Ohio Now is a statewide coalition advocating for great public services that lead to stronger communities, and the revenue to pay for those services.
We want to see Ohio prosper, and ensure that all Ohioans share in that prosperity. We can and should provide education allowing Ohioans to compete globally, infrastructure to support a sound economy, public health and safety that business and residents require, a clean environment for work and play, and a strong safety net protecting the least fortunate.
A successful Ohio depends on strategic investment in the services and infrastructure that underpin economic growth and position us for long-term prosperity. To invest, we’ll need a revenue system that works for us all. It should change to match the economy, and grow to meet public needs. It should be equitable so that everyone – especially the wealthiest Ohioans and big corporations – pays their fair share.
With adequate revenue, we can have great public K-12 education in every community regardless of income, we can make college affordable, and we can take care of the elderly and disabled with dignity. If everyone pays their fair share, and we make good choices about how we invest, we can do all of this and much more.
It’s time for a change.
It’s time that the wealthiest Ohioans and big corporations pay their fair share of taxes to fully fund vital community services. It’s time to stop relying on the privatization of public assets for quick one- time revenue. It’s time for lasting solutions that meet the state’s needs, promote jobs, and maintain the quality of life that Ohioans expect and deserve.
Starting with tax changes in 2005, politicians have chosen tax cuts that benefit wealthy Ohioans the most over support for essentials like schools, libraries, police, and firefighters. In 2013, 2014, and 2015 with revenues increasing, the budget didn’t make up for all of the cuts, let alone invest what’s necessary to solve problems in our communities. Instead, more cuts and tax shifts lead to more inequality. Small gains like the modest Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for low-income working families don’t go far enough; we need a strong, refundable EITC.
Our schools have been asked to choose between chopping courses or crowding classrooms, and the cut in the property tax rollbacks will make it even harder to pass local levies. Local governments – which get nearly $1 billion less in state support in the current two-year budget compared to the budget of four years earlier – struggle to keep streets repaired, cops on the beat, and firehouses open. Local communities across Ohio are suffering as a result of decisions by state politicians.
We can reform our revenue system to be equitable and sufficient to meet Ohio’s needs. One Ohio Now is pushing for common-sense change. Our proposed solutions include:
- Review and reduce wasteful tax breaks. Some tax exemptions help regular Ohioans. But too many are special-interest giveaways, costing us hundreds of millions of wasted tax dollars, failing to create good jobs, and benefiting the wealthiest Ohioans and big corporations. The Ohio General Assembly should thoroughly and regularly review the $8.5 billion in exemptions, credits and deductions that riddle our tax code. These reviews should be coupled with sunset dates for all such breaks. We should also cut wasteful tax breaks. For example, the credit big corporations can receive for losses from long ago, a sales-tax exemption on payments to lobbyists, and the limit on sales tax for time shares in luxury jet aircraft are all clearly unnecessary.
- Ensure the wealthiest Ohioans are paying their fair share. One of many potential improvements would be to reinstate the 2005 rate on income over a quarter million dollars and create a new rate on income over a half million dollars. Hundreds of millions of dollars a year – enough to reverse much of the cuts to local government, invest in human services, and boost school funding – could be generated this way. More than 95% of Ohioans would pay the same as they do now. Whatever the rates, the richest Ohioans should pay their fair share to fund vital services we all need.
- Ensure big corporations are paying their fair share. Profitable corporations must share responsibility for protecting the public investments – education, infrastructure, and more – from which they benefit. The share of Ohio state and local taxes paid by businesses has fallen over the past generation, so Ohio families shoulder a greater percentage of the tax load. Ohio is one of only six states without a tax on corporate profits, which was phased out beginning in 2005. We need to restore that tax, without the old loopholes, together with a robust Commercial Activity Tax.
- Update our taxes on services and natural resources. As new industries develop and old ones fade, we should adapt. For instance, with the growth in sales over the Internet, online retailers should collect taxes just like local mom-and-pops. Sales tax expansion should be considered as Ohio shifts to more of a service economy, with care taken so that our tax code does not become more regressive. The tax on oil and gas drilling – well below that in most states – should be raised to cover new costs like road maintenance and environmental protection and prepare for the future.
These sensible changes will help create the kind of Ohio that businesses want to invest in, protect Ohio’s quality of life, and invest in our most important resource – the children who are our future.