Correction: October 20, 2025 | This release has been corrected: Just 12% of Americans believe wealthy families pay too much in taxes, according to this poll. The correction appears in bold; incorrectly reported data is struck through. The state legislature delivered Ohio millionaires one of the biggest income tax cuts
70%: Share of respondents to our survey of felony-impacted Ohioans (conducted in partnership with Building Freedom Ohio) who reported experiencing at least one conviction-related denial of employment or getting fired from a job after a background check. The Get Rehabilitated Ohioans Working (GROW) Act could help more people get back
Poorly targeted bill will harm school districts, leave out property owners who need relief, and benefit some who don’t Policy Matters Ohio’s analysis of Substitute House Bill 186 notes that the proposed legislation could strip nearly $1.7 billion from public schools over three years. Its tax relief measures would benefit
75.3%: Amount by which Ohio workers are more productive than their counterparts in 1979. 18.5%: Amount by which Ohio workers’ median pay has increased in that same period. That’s a lot of additional value generated by people who aren’t getting their fair share of the profits. It’s just one example
Survey shows biggest impact on employment, driver’s license suspensions A new brief, “Fired, Denied, Rescinded,” shows some of the harm done to Ohioans by collateral sanctions: legal restrictions tied to criminal convictions even after a person has completed their sentence. Based on a survey conducted by Policy Matters and Building
Ineffective tax breaks warrant strict review Unproductive tax breaks that favor corporations and wealthy Ohioans have riddled the state tax code for years. In a new report released today, Policy Matters Ohio outlines the scope of these tax expenditures, as they are known, and recent changes that hold out some
In honor of Policy Matters Ohio’s 25th anniversary, our annual Labor Day lookback at key economic indicators also looks back at the last 25 years, finding that Ohio workers are still struggling “For decades, federal and state policymakers have prioritized ‘business-friendly’ policies and trickle-down tax codes, benefiting the wealthiest among
25: Policy Matters is celebrating 25 years of working for a more vibrant, equitable, sustainable, and inclusive Ohio. Please join our staff and board on September 30th for a casual open house in Cleveland to celebrate our accomplishments, stand in solidarity, and connect with each other. You can RSVP and
$600M: Amount of Ohioans’ tax dollars already paid to Intel as part of the chip-maker’s contract with the state — in return for which we were promised two massive, job-creating factories in New Albany. We’ve already given Intel that money, and promised them more, plus infrastructure investments to help them
House makes it harder for public schools to raise funds locally Today, the Ohio House of Representatives continued their crusade against public education by overriding Gov. DeWine’s line-item veto of a property-tax measure included in the state operating budget that was passed last month. Of three vetoes targeted for override,
$60B: Cost of the two-year state operating budget, H.B. 96, signed into law by Gov. DeWine on July 1. The bill includes massive tax cuts for the wealthy that will require deep cuts to public services that benefit everyone. Ohio’s wealthiest 20% of households will reap nearly all the benefits
The ugly truth about the One Big Beautiful Bill
This piece originally appeared on Cleveland.com on September 14, 2025. After passing President Trump’s signature budget legislation this summer, the bill’s proponents began a PR campaign to convince Americans not to believe their eyes. Legislators who voted for the bill are shouting from the rooftops that they didn’t chose to cut Medicaid, jeopardize rural hospitals, and increase the national debt, all to