Ramaswamy plans to probe property tax increases if elected governor

Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said he would launch investigations into Ohio localities where property taxes have more than doubled since before the pandemic if he is elected.

“I’m going to launch investigations on my first day in office of all localities where property taxes have more than doubled since the pandemic, to understand how taxpayers’ money is actually being spent,” Ramaswamy said in a release. “Property taxes are stealing the property of homeowners and this can’t go on.”

According to Ramaswamy, who faces off against Democrat Amy Acton in Tuesday’s election, property tax collections on Ohio homes and farmland have jumped nearly 45% since 2020. A July report from Ideastream Public Media found that Ohio farmers’ property taxes have risen tenfold since 2005.

Ramaswamy has previously promised to roll back property taxes to pre-COVID-19 levels.

“Ohioans deserve transparency on how their dollars are being spent and how their properties are being appraised and I’m going to give it to them,” Ramaswamy added. “They won’t get it from Amy Acton who bans recordings at her events and refuses to debate.”

Property taxes have been a hot-button issue in Ohio for months.

In July 2025, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine formed the Property Tax Reform Working Group. The group subsequently released a series of recommendations, and lawmakers responded with several measures aimed at tamping down property tax increases.

Acton has also released a plan to combat rising property taxes that includes an expanded Homestead Exemption and a new Property Tax Spike Rebate.

Meanwhile, some groups have even advocated abolishing property taxes statewide. Last year, then-Attorney General Dave Yost said county officials should lead the charge in property tax reform, as Buckeye State residents might vote to eliminate property taxes via a potential ballot measure.

Earlier this year, AxOHTax did not collect the requisite 413,488 signatures needed by July 1 to put the amendment on the November ballot. However, the group plans to try again in 2027.