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Dear Senators Harris, Niehaus, Faber, and Wagoner: On behalf of the National Taxpayers Union’s 13,500 Ohio members, I urge you to reject the $844 million income tax increase Gov. Strickland has proposed, which the House of Representatives recently passed. This punitive scheme would hit Ohioans of all income levels, transferring money from the wallets of hard-working families into government coffers. In these uncertain economic times, taxpayers are moderating their spending habits; the state should do the same. Though coupled with a new and onerous business tax, the personal tax cuts signed into law in 2005 were at least a step in the right direction for Ohio’s economic future. Ohioans were scheduled to see a 21 percent reduction in their income tax bills by 2009. The final year of the phase-in, however, is under attack from the Strickland Administration and House Democrats, who have conspired to “delay” the final year of the plan. Unfortunately, two Republican Representatives, Rep. Matthew Dolan and Rep. Ross McGregor, joined with Speaker Budish’s caucus in delivering this blow to Ohio families. In the autumn of 2008, the Ohio Department of Taxation released income tax withholding tables that instructed businesses to withhold their employees’ taxes at the expected 2009 rates. If this method of calculation is thrown out now, citizens who expected sizeable refund checks come April may actually end up owing the state money. Ohioans are counting on tax refunds for everything from making home repairs to paying overdue phone bills. By promising something and delivering nothing to cash-strapped families, the state government could not pick a worse time to poach its citizens’ expected income. It’s time for Senate Leadership to stand up for taxpayers and stop this scheme. The Governor’s justification for taking more of the people’s money is built on a house of cards. In a speech unveiling his plan, Gov. Strickland claimed to have cut the state budget by $2 billion, when in fact it is 6.3 percent larger than its predecessor thanks to one-time federal bailout money. Strickland argued that the only options for dealing with the state’s $850 deficit were to raise taxes or cut education spending, despite the fact that House Republicans had proposed hundreds of millions in savings by streamlining government and eliminating waste. The Governor also boasted that Ohio’s taxes are “the lowest in the Midwest.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The Buckeye State has the 7th-highest state and local tax burden in the nation, higher than each of its neighbors. Under the Strickland/Budish plan, government grows bigger while Ohioans foot the bill. Our members are counting on you to ensure that the buck stops in the Senate. Vote no on this destructive tax increase.
CC: Ohio State Senate |
