Our sister organization, Innovation Ohio Education Fund, has reviewed the components of the two-year budget proposed by the Kasich administration. Today they released an analysis of the plan to reduce the state sales tax while expanding it to a number of services that have never been taxable before.
In sum, the plan is part of a massive tax shift away from the highly progressive income tax toward the more regressive sales tax. Policy Matters Ohio estimates that most Ohioans will pay more under the plan, while the top 1% will get a tax cut of over $10,000. Today, in the first of a series of hearings on the plan in the Ohio House this week, the plan got a decidedly mixed reception in a hearing designated for its supporters.
Read our full analysis of the sales tax proposal.
Previous FY 2014-2015 budget analysis from IO Ed Fund:
For his 2014 campaign Kasich is attempting to claim he lowered income taxes and added funds to school districts. The truth is his is simply moving taxes from his wealthy donors to the working poor and middle class. Our nations has usually stood for the reverse. On school funding, the poor school districts get nothing or very little and the best off ones get a lot — also not fair. It’s clear who the Republicans really stand for and it’s not the middle class. Don’t just read headlines, look deeper for a clear picture of tax changes.