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State Representative Jim Buchy
The Budget
Discussion Continues in the Senate
At this point in the budget process, the Senate is discussing their
concerns with the budget and making changes as they see fit.
Amended Substitute House Bill 64, the state operating budget, passed in
the House with bipartisan support in April. The bill will undoubtedly
go through some changes before its passage in the Senate, and will then
go to a conference committee where both sides will work out the
differences in the budget bill.
In the House, we were able to pass a budget that received bi-partisan
support as well as positive feedback from pro-taxpayer groups.
Am. Sub. H.B. 64 provides over $1.2 billion in tax relief to Ohioans
over the next two years. An across-the-board income tax reduction of
6.3 percent for Ohioans was included, which is a key component of my
legislative agenda.
In 1983 Governor Celeste made a 90% increase in the income tax
permanent in order to fund expanded government programs. I voted
against that tax increase and have been advocating for its removal
since. The top marginal tax rate is now the lowest it’s been since
1982.This is a major victory for Ohio taxpayers and we did it without
raising other taxes.
As the bill moves through the Senate it will be important that tax
increases are not added. The tax provisions in the budget will have the
single biggest impact on the future growth of Ohio’s economy. If
for some reason the Senate proposes adjusting any of these other tax
rates, there will need to be serious consideration given to the impact
any tax changes will have on Ohio’s economic future.
Am. Sub. H.B. 64 contained some other smart policy concepts that will
help improve Ohioans’ lives. Last month, I wrote about the Ohio Tax
Quiz and my concerns that the Ohio Tax Department had not properly
informed Ohioans about this new program. Many of these questions
have been outdated, to difficult and sometimes just plain offensive.
Protecting taxpayers from identity theft and tax fraud should remain a
priority for the Ohio Tax Department, but those efforts should not
become cumbersome for Ohio’s taxpayers.
Many constituents in western Ohio proposed limitations on the tax quiz
questions and increased legislative oversight. As a result, the
state budget included an amendment that requires the Tax Commissioner
to report to the legislature and also limits the data collection for
the quiz to 15 years for BMV data and 10 years for all other data.
Moving forward, discussions with state senators will be key to
retaining this provision in the budget.
In Ohio we are constitutionally required to balance the budget every
two years. There will be much work in the coming weeks to
accomplish this obligation. That work is important along with
full scrutiny on other policy matters that will be included in the
state budget. Matters such as reigning in the overreach of the
Ohio Tax Department will be key moving forward.
Please give me your opinion on this topic and others in the news this
month by completing an online survey at tinyurl.com/buchymay2015
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