Senate President Pro Tempore Highlights Danger of Abolishing Property Taxes Statewide

$20 billion every year.

Local governments, school districts, and other organizations within political subdivisions collect more than $20 billion a year in local property taxes.

If that disappears with an effort to pass a constitutional amendment abolishing property taxes next year, the key question becomes can it be replaced?

Proponents say people should blame the Ohio General Assembly. The General Assembly is working to pass in the next couple weeks legislation that would return the system to its anti-inflationary standards as originally intended.

Currently the Ohio Senate's Local Government Committee is hearing HB 309, HB 335, and HB 186 which would empower county budget commissions to roll back millages once the expected revenue is met, limit the 10 mill inside millage to the rate of inflation, and limit the 20 mill floor to the rate of inflation. The Local Government Committee is chaired by Senator Sandra O'Brien, (R-Ashtabula), who is a former county auditor. All three House Bills are sponsored or co-sponsored by State Representative Jim Hoops, (R-Napoleon), and Representative David Thomas, (R-Ashtabula) who both served as county auditors as well. All three understand exactly how the property tax system works, and why it should be reformed instead of repealed.

The General Assembly also restored the ban on future substitute emergency levies and replacement levies by passing a veto override in October. Those levies generated additional revenue without a vote of the people as property values rose. The levies will no longer be permitted on the ballot.

This week Senate President Pro Tempore Bill Reineke, (R-Tiffin) joins the President's Podcast to talk about the damage that would be done by a property tax repeal, not to mention the massive amount of local control that would be lost across the state. The nonsense narrative by proponents of the repeal focuses on blaming the legislature, only to then demand the legislature fix the financial hole left over. It's a disaster looming over proud communities and neighborhoods.

To replace $20 billion in locally collected property tax revenue, the state would be faced with a potential sales tax increase approaching 18% and a new income tax rate upwards of 10%. Both would be devastating to Ohio's economy. Watch Senate President Rob McColley summarize the catastrophe in this video that has been viewed more than 550,000 times.

Senator Reineke also talks about the devastating effect a property tax repeal would have on businesses in this week's President's Podcast.

The President's Podcast is available on multiple platforms including iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, YouTube and Spotify.