Ohio must advance property tax reform to save Ohioans money
Originally published in the Columbus Dispatch, this is a slightly expanded version that goes into more detail. I truly appreciate the Dispatch for their willingness to include contrarian voices and headlines that help to sell newspapers.
After one of many property tax increases a few years ago, one of my friends quipped that, “You never really own your home; you just rent it from the government.”
I hadn’t really thought of it that way, but Brian Massie, a leader of a grass-roots group working to pass a constitutional amendment to abolish property taxes in Ohio next year, recently made a similar observation.
According to an analysis by the Tax Foundation, our state currently has the eighth highest property tax rates in the nation — higher than all surrounding states. It’s usually good to be ahead of the folks in that state up north, but not on this kind of scoreboard.
In the biannual budget passed last month, the Ohio General Assembly made a strong defensive play to stop the offensive property tax assault. But Governor DeWine called an audible, promptly vetoing most of those provisions, and opting instead for a new working group to study the problem.
The Ohio House overrode one of those vetoes already. They should tackle the others too. As of this writing, we’re still waiting on action by the Senate.
We’ll soon know how many of the provisions will make it into law and whether it’ll be enough to stave off the populist uprising to call the game and start over from scratch.
The challenge for Gov. DeWine’s new squad will evolve accordingly. I’ve worked previously with Bill Seitz and Pat Tiberi, the former legislators tasked with leading it. They are both thoughtful and hardworking public servants who’ve tackled complex issues during their legislative terms. I encourage those interested to make their voices heard.
I’ve seen both sides of this contest. I paid property taxes indirectly as an apartment renter for fifteen years after college and directly as the owner of real estate for my home and business thereafter.
And, as a two-term member of my local school board, I voted first to cut spending to avoid a property tax increase for our community. Then, when facility maintenance and student enrollment growth required it, I voted to place the smallest possible levies on the ballot to let the people decide.
I’ve argued against specific tax increases when government entities hadn’t made good cases for them and supported others when they did.
Though I’m politically conservative, I’m not reflexively anti-tax. No taxes means no government, and we need some sensible level of both.
Particularly at our state level, with the constitutional requirements for a balanced budget and representative government accountable to the people, arguments over taxes and spending are the archetypal example of how our system was designed to work. Add in Ohio’s direct democracy option for citizen-led constitutional amendments and we really do have a government of, by, and for the people of our state.
Let’s face it — taxes will always be a contentious issue. I’d love to pay less. But I also want well-trained and professional police and firefighters to show up when needed. I want effective and efficient public schools and well-maintained roads and public spaces. And, just as importantly, I want the public employees and elected officials responsible for those services to be fully accountable to voters.
That accountability is best achieved when the taxing and spending is closest to the people actually paying the taxes and spending the money. That means local, not state or federal. Property taxes, which are collected and spent locally, are effective in that regard.
But Ohio’s property taxes have clearly gotten out of control. The elderly on fixed incomes shouldn’t be taxed out of their homes. And too many school districts have abused the existing system and are taxing and spending without adequate accountability to those paying the bill.
With the exception of the cap on school district cash reserves, which I’ve criticized before, Ohio’s General Assembly has done a good job addressing some of the biggest property tax problems in the latest state budget. Governor DeWine’s vetoes of those other provisions were misguided.
Paying rent really is like paying property taxes. It’s part of the price of having a livable environment wherever you call home. What matters is whether you can afford it and are getting value commensurate with that cost. Ohioans are right to challenge both parts of that equation.
Voters will tolerate some taxes — but not being ignored. When government stops listening, those same voters will call the game themselves.