Property tax circuit breaker is effective, targeted tax reform

Messages for discussing property tax reform in Ohio.
(Read the full report.)

Key Message

Some Ohioans are paying too much in property taxes. Reform should help them — without making our tax code even less equitable and without harming schools and other public services that rely on property taxes.

Talking Points

• Some Ohioans cannot afford property taxes, especially where home valuations have skyrocketed while incomes remain stagnant. Politicians use this to justify taking more away from communities and giving it to those who can afford to pay.
• These politicians abandoned the Fair School Funding Plan and cut state-level funding for public services that benefit everyone. They used that money instead to pay for massive income tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthiest. Communities are left with few options for raising necessary revenue to keep schools and other services afloat.
• SB 22 and HB 365 both target relief to the households who need it while preserving critical funding for schools and other services. It does so with a “property tax circuit breaker”: a policy that refunds a portion of your property tax bill beyond a set share of your income.
• The circuit breaker works because the state covers the cost of the refund. That way, schools and other services still get the funding they need.
• Circuit breakers are popular: 29 other states have similar policies already in place.
• Many other changes that are being considered are poorly targeted: just more giveaways to people who don’t need them or punish school districts more than they help homeowners.
• Ohio can afford a circuit breaker by cutting the costly, ineffective tax breaks throughout our tax code. Policymakers should put communities, education, and struggling Ohioans ahead of politics.