Innovation Ohio

What you need to know about Ohio Politics and Policy

House to act on Kasich Turnpike plan

turnpikeThis week, the Ohio House of Representatives is set to weigh in on Governor Kasich’s plan to borrow against future Turnpike tolls to fund ODOT’s statewide road construction program. House Bill 51 lays out the details of the Governor’s plans, many of which hardly resemble the promises made by the administration when they initially unveiled their plans for the roadway.
Compared to the plan unveiled by the Kasich administration in December, some important elements of the legislation look very different:
  • For the first time in the roadway’s history, Turnpike revenue can be spent in other parts of the state
  • The bill contains no requirement that 90 percent — or any proportion — of the proceeds of bonds are spent in northern Ohio
  • There are no limits on how much tolls can be raised in the future
Read our full analysis of HB 51. The House Finance Committee is set to hear public testimony on Tuesday, followed by a vote on Wednesday. Look up committee schedules and contact members here.  

Poll: Ohioans Reject Kasich Budget Proposals

For Immediate Release: February 15, 2013 Contact: Dale Butland, 614-783-5833

Poll: Ohioans Reject Kasich Budget Proposals

Innovation Ohio Says General Assembly Should Heed Voters 

COLUMBUS – Innovation Ohio, a progressive think tank headquartered in Columbus, today released the results of a poll showing that large majorities of Ohioans disagree with many of Gov. John Kasich’s key policy and budget proposals. Among the poll’s key findings are:
  • 60% of Ohioans say public schools need more state funding to improve; 59% say Ohio is doing too little to improve the quality of public education
  • 62% say helping localities fund schools, fire and police is more important to them than reducing the state income tax
  • 62% favor raising Ohio’s severance tax on oil and natural gas to the Texas rate —and using the money to offset state budget cuts to local governments
  • 74% favor a plan to create tax incentives for energy companies to hire Ohio workers
  • 57% oppose borrowing against future Ohio Turnpike tolls in order to fund road, bridge and other infrastructure projects now [Read more…]

Kasich’s oil and gas tax proposal leaves over $1 billion on the table

Governor Kasich’s budget raises the rate of Ohio’s severance tax, charged when drillers extract oil and natural gas from Ohio’s shale, but would preserve our tax rate as one of the lowest among all oil and gas producing states. According to the administration, these changes will raise $200 million in new tax revenue over the next two years, but is dwarfed in comparison to the $2.9 billion in new sales taxes Ohioans are being asked to pay in the budget, resources that will support another income tax cut that will mostly benefit the wealthiest Ohioans. It’s important for policymakers to consider whether the new tax rate is sufficient.Based on production estimates from the Ohio Department of Taxation, we attempted to compare the estimated revenue from Governor Kasich’s proposal to what Ohio could collect at varying tax rates, including those in place in other oil and gas states.  [Read more…]

State budget includes massive shift from income to sales taxes

The two-year state budget announced last week includes a proposed to massively shift the cost of paying for government away from the income tax – the state’s most progressive tax, based on one’s ability to pay – toward more reliance on the sales tax. Here are the specific components of the plan: Sales tax: net tax increase of $2.9 billion
  • Expand the sales tax to cover all “non-essential” services individuals and businesses purchase: raises $4.4 billion
  • Lower the sales tax rate from 5.5 to 5 percent: costs $1.5 billion [Read more…]

Report: Kasich Tax Proposals Will Overwhelmingly Favor Wealthy Ohioans

Policy Matters Ohio
Policy Matters Ohio
Today Policy Matters Ohio released a report showing that the net effect of Governor Kasich’s tax reforms in his proposed budget would overwhelmingly favor the wealthiest Ohioans. The analysis shows that Ohioans in the top 1 percent of incomes would receive an annual tax cut of $10,369, while families in the bottom fifth — making less than $18,000 a year — would pay $63 more a year. Ohioans in the middle — making between $33,000 and $51,000 — would see an increase of about $8 a year. On Monday, Governor Kasich was emphatic that this budget includes tax cuts for every Ohioan. Unfortunately, the analysis shows the only Ohioans guaranteed to see any sort of tax break are those in the highest income brackets. The rest of us will pay more. — Follow me on Twitter at BPeytonIO.

Kasich School Funding Plan Falls Short for Property Poor Districts

Gov. John Kasich released his much-anticipated education plan last week – a plan he once boasted would be the best in the country. Its hallmark was the claim that it would fix Ohio’s disparity in property wealth by having the State pick up the cost to bring all districts up to $250,000 in per pupil valuation on 20 mills – a measure reached by just 4% of Ohio districts on their own. It sounded great – nearly every district would get more money, and the poorest would get the most. He even received plaudits from many media members. However, reality has proven otherwise. Looking at Kasich’s own district-by-district runs released yesterday, poor districts actually fare worse than wealthy. According to administration figures, for every dollar going to a kid in the property richest school districts, just 25 cents goes to the property poorest districts.
perpupilpost
The top 1/3 of districts based on property wealth — or the ability to raise money on a mill — fare best under the Kasich plan, when comparing FY15 to FY13.
[Read more…]

Kasich Administration’s Severance Tax Proposal is Inadequate and a Gift to Big Oil

wellhead2On Monday, Gov. John Kasich introduced his second operating budget which included sweeping reforms to Ohio’s tax structure. Included in those changes were modifications to how the state wants to tax oil and gas developers who are planning to extract vast quantities of resources in eastern Ohio via hydraulic fracturing. Unfortunately, these changes are inadequate and cause the state to rely upon other more regressive taxes that harm poor and middle income families. The governor’s severance tax proposal this week was similar to legislation that he called for but failed to get through the Ohio General Assembly in 2012.  This proposal increases severance tax rates that producers pay depending on the type of hydrocarbon they extract. Producers will pay 1 percent on the value of gas they extract, 4 percent on both natural gas and natural gas liquids with the caveat that producers only need to pay 1.5 percent during the first year to recover well production costs. According to the administration, these changes will collect an additional $200 million in tax revenue over the next two-year budget cycle and a total of $920.9 million by the end of fiscal year 2017. [Read more…]

Promises Made, Not All Kept as Kasich Turnpike Plan Moves Into Legislature

turnpikeHearings began Wednesday on the Kasich administration proposal to borrow against future Turnpike tolls to finance transportation projects around the state. Those hearings, and the bill which was released Tuesday, make clear that there are serious deficiencies in the details of the proposal when compared to the promises made by Gov. John Kasich in December. When announcing his plans for the Turnpike, Kasich assured northern Ohioans that their tolls would not go up, that no layoffs would occur and that 90% of the proceeds of the borrowing against future toll revenue would be spent in northern Ohio. Unfortunately, the language in House Bill 38 contains no such requirements. [Read more…]

Who is really served by latest Kasich budget?

served If Gov. John Kasich’s latest two-year state budget proposal proves one thing, it is this: Most Ohioans don’t have a friend in Columbus. If you’re a high income earner, the governor is on your side. If you’re a bigwig at a Big Oil & Gas firm, the governor is your humble servant. If you are a charter school cheat, looting public education – John Kasich is your wheelman. If you’re looking for relief or a leveling of the playing field – you’re out of luck. There are still bills to be dropped, hearings to be held and a months-long political process to watch and to participate in on Capitol Square. Innovation Ohio will be unpacking the issues below in greater detail in the coming days and weeks. The state budget is about taxing and spending, but it’s also a huge collection of public policy changes. It’s a document that can be forward looking and which offers a plan to put public money into to the public’s interest. What we’re seeing so far is ideological dogma, little that speaks to the future and lots of your money flowing in the wrong directions. [Read more…]

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