Eliminating Ohio’s property taxes goes too far

This op-ed was originally published by Cleveland.com on June 15, 2025.

Property taxes are the oldest form of taxation in Ohio, existing since 1825. It is time to reform them — and the state’s tax code in general.

But a proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate property taxes goes too far.

Property taxes are crucial to many of the public services Ohioans rely on. In tax year 2024, Ohioans supported schools, libraries, senior services and community colleges with $23.9 billion in property taxes.

That is more than the state sales tax ($13.7 billion) and income tax ($9.5 billion) combined generated for the General Revenue Fund in fiscal year 2024.

The fact that revenue generated from Ohio’s income tax is a relatively small amount is part of the reason why property taxes are too high for some Ohioans.

Over the last 20 years, our state legislature has eroded the personal income tax with cuts that primarily benefit the wealthiest Ohioans.

These cuts have led to an annual revenue shortfall of almost $13 billion, leaving the state without adequate revenue to support schools, local governments and public libraries.

With less funding from the state, these local entities are forced to raise revenue themselves.

However, most are prevented by law from collecting tax on investments or capital gains — types of income that are more common in wealthier communities.

They’re left with limited options, including property taxes and other regressive taxes — the kind that cost a greater share of your income the less income you have.

Put simply: For 20 years, state lawmakers have been cutting taxes to help the wealthy and forcing everyone else to make up the difference with taxes that hit lower-earning Ohioans the hardest.

Schools, libraries and other local entities are caught in the middle: Either cut services vital to their communities or raise the necessary revenue through regressive taxes.

This tax shift was not the fault of any local entity, but the fault of state lawmakers over the last two decades cutting taxes for the rich.

To correct this imbalance, the state must reverse course on income tax cuts and increase funding for localities — which would reduce the need for local levies.

Then they can target property tax relief to those who need it.

The best way the state can target relief is with a Circuit Breaker.

It works like this: If your property taxes consume more than 5 percent of your income, the state will provide a refundable income tax credit to offset any amount above that.

Most importantly, local entities will still receive the revenue to provide their vital services, because the state pays for the credit, using revenues collected in part through the kind of taxes that ask more from people who can afford it.

The Circuit Breaker is the best property tax option for many other reasons. The Circuit Breaker targets assistance to those who need it by using income to determine eligibility.

Ohioans of all ages — including renters as well as homeowners — would qualify if their income, home value or rent is below a certain level.

More than 30 other states already have some form of Circuit Breakers.

There are Ohioans who need property tax relief. Their anger toward a do-nothing legislature is justified.

However, the proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate property taxes creates more problems than it solves.