Timken Supports $2 Billion In Long Term Relief For Ohio Property Taxpayers

COLUMBUS—State Senator Jane Timken (R-Jackson Township) and the Ohio State Senate passed five major reforms to Ohio's Property Tax Laws ending the unfair practice of runaway tax increases without a vote of the people.

This will save Ohio's property taxpayers $2 billion over three years as the full force of the changes take effect.

The Senate acted to pass reforms in five key areas:  

• Prioritizing property tax relief for Ohioans who own and live in their homes. Homeowners will see the owner-occupied tax credit increase from 12.5% to 15.38% over the next 4 years. This will provide an additional $350 million to $400 million of property tax relief for Ohio homeowners while the nonbusiness property tax credit is phased out
• Capping the basic automatic growth of inside millage to no more than the cumulative rate of inflation over the previous 3 years
• Capping the growth in property taxes due to reappraisal to no more than the cumulative rate of inflation over the previous 3 years
• Empowering County Budget Commissions to reduce unnecessary or excessive collections
• Making existing Emergency and Substitute levies subject to the tax reduction factors 

“The goal of this legislation is to enact common sense solutions to stem rapidly increasing property taxes and give relief to homeowners,” Senator Timken said. “These reforms ensure essential city services are preserved while homeowners are protected from unexpected property tax increases.”

Earlier this year the Ohio Senate passed two veto overrides that prohibit all future substitute emergency and substitute replacement levies. These levies fall outside of the anti-inflationary guardrails of existing law and contributed to shocking property tax bills for taxpayers. 

Senator Timken and the Senate will continue to explore reforms to Ohio's property tax system in the new year.  

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