Loopholes upon loopholes: Ohio business owners can double benefits from some deductions
Ohio business owners are able to get double tax benefits out of certain deductions to their state income tax, Policy Matters Ohio detailed in a report issued today. They are able to do so by taking advantage of a loophole in the tax break for business owners, often known as the LLC loophole. Hundreds of […]
Trump budget will expand poverty and inequality
COLUMBUS – Policy Matters Ohio Senior Project Director Wendy Patton issued the following statement in response to the release of the 2020 Trump Budget proposal: “Like his past proposals, President Trump’s 2020 budget plan would harm countless Ohioans and lead to deepening poverty, shrinking opportunity and growing racial inequality. “If enacted, the Trump budget will […]
Policy Matters urges rejection of bills for deregulation, opportunity zone credit
Policy Matters Ohio testified before two Senate committees today, telling them to reject one bill that calls for slashing by 30 percent the rules that implement Ohio state law and another that would create a new tax credit for investors in opportunity zones. Senate Bill 1 would have agencies examine the rules that make up […]
Policy Matters adds Will Petrik to research team
Will Petrik has joined Policy Matters Ohio as a budget researcher. Petrik previously worked as state director of Advocates for Ohio’s Future, where he helped lead the fight to expand Medicaid in Ohio. Because of this work, over 650,000 people now have access to health care coverage. He also served as Outreach Coordinator for the […]
Policy Matters Ohio recommends principles for criminal justice reform
Policy Matters Ohio today, in a letter to Senate President Larry Obhof, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair John Eklund, and Senator Cecil Thomas, Ranking Minority member of the Judiciary Committee, recommended five principles for meaningful criminal justice reform in Ohio. As the Senate Judiciary Committee begins considering what to include in Senate Bill 3, the criminal […]
Policy Matters: Use gas tax hike to fund transit too
As state policymakers contemplate raising the gas tax to fund much-needed repairs to Ohio’s highways and roads, Policy Matters Ohio asked the House Finance committee to set aside part of that new revenue to fund public transit. With a $1 billion hole in the transportation budget, Governor Mike DeWine proposed increasing the gas tax by […]
Policy Matters calls for a state budget that invests in people, communities
In coming weeks, Governor Mike DeWine will release his proposal for the 2020-2021 state budget. After years of tax cuts for the wealthy and widening loopholes for special interests, crucial services that support Ohio’s people and communities have been deprived of sufficient funding to meet Ohio’s needs. From public schools to public transit, Policy Matters […]
Restoring tax cuts, closing loopholes could add nearly 40,000 Ohio jobs
By rolling back tax cuts for the wealthy and closing tax loopholes that mostly benefit corporations, Ohio lawmakers could boost the state’s economy with 39,601 new jobs, $1.7 billion in increased wages and add $2 billion to the state’s GDP. These are the findings from Policy Matters Ohio, which worked with the Regional Economic Models […]
Ohio cut funding, eliminated more than half its civil rights enforcement staff since 2000
Although hate crimes are on the rise and more Ohioans are filing civil rights complaints, two decades of funding cuts have reduced enforcement capacity at the Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) to meet rising demands, according to a new report from Policy Matters Ohio. Since 2000, state policymakers cut funding for the OCRC by $1.4 […]
$15 minimum wage would help 2 million Ohioans
A bill being introduced in the Ohio legislature to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2023 would raise wages for about 2 million Ohio workers, according to a report released today by Policy Matters Ohio. They include 1.6 million workers now earning less than the current value of the wage, and […]
Tax giveaways put squeeze on state budget
Years of income tax cuts, expanding tax breaks and the elimination of corporate taxes have put Ohio’s budget in a bind, preventing the state from meeting basic needs and investing in the future, according to new analysis from Policy Matters Ohio. In almost every year since the tax overhaul of 2005, Ohio lawmakers cut taxes, […]
Cincinnati leads the way with Good Food Purchasing Policy
In 2017, Cincinnati Public Schools spent more than $7.7 million on food for their kids. That’s $7.7 million of leverage over a food supply chain that runs from farm to factory to cafeteria. Last night, the Cincinnati School Board chose to use that leverage to do some good. By adopting the Good Food Purchasing Policy, […]