Will property tax group address ‘byzantine patchwork’ of current system in recommendations?

As lawmakers return to the Ohio Statehouse this week, a committee investigating possible property tax fixes is wrapping up its work as its deadline looms.

Ohio’s Property Tax Reform Working Group, which Republican Gov. Mike DeWine appointed, is considering roughly 20 different proposals leading up to its Sept. 30 deadline.

A draft of the report is expected to be ready by Thursday’s working group meeting. Changes the group is likely to recommend include school levy changes, cracking down on “tax loopholes,” and reducing bureaucracy.

“Ohio’s property tax system has become like the mythical Gordian Knot that was so intricately woven that no one could untie it for centuries,” Greg R. Lawson, research fellow for The Buckeye Institute, said in prepared testimony to the group. “Tired of trying, legend holds that Alexander the Great drew his sword and cut the knot. His reward was eternal glory.

“Similar knot-cutting efforts are currently underway here in Ohio with activists petitioning and some elected officials supporting a constitutional ballot initiative to eliminate property taxes entirely,” Lawson added. “If successful, that misguided effort would gut local public services with no reasonable revenue replacement—but the sentiment is understandable and the public’s outrage over skyrocketing property taxes should not be ignored.”

That outrage led to a ballot initiative to eliminate property taxes altogether. Inaction by lawmakers is likely to prompt voters to seriously consider the proposal.

“We’re on the verge of seeing a statewide proposal that most of us think would be destructive to our state if it passed,” Pat Tiberi, the working group’s co-chair, said, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

Lawson said the Buckeye State’s “extraordinarily complicated local government structure,” with more than 6,500 local government authorities that can levy taxes, is increasingly expensive, presenting a “perennial and paramount problem.”

The Columbus-based think tank has identified 10 policy solutions that lawmakers should consider, which the group said would be better than abolishing local property taxes. They include mandating that local governments join Ohio Checkbook to increase transparency, allowing county budget commissions to lower taxes if excess property taxes are collected and consolidating local governments to eliminate redundancies.

“For short-term taxpayer relief, the General Assembly should clarify statutory ambiguities and authorize local budget commissions to prospectively reduce their property tax rates when localities are projected to collect more than necessary to meet funding requirements,” Lawson said.

“…For medium-term relief, the General Assembly should eliminate or amend the 20-mill floor for public schools, and cap the inside millage growth rate at inflation’s pace,” Lawson added. “…In the longer run, Ohio must finally address its over-complicated, byzantine patchwork of more than 6,500 local governments and special districts with varying taxing authorities.”

Reducing bureaucracy, however defined, may seem like a noble cause, and some Ohio lawmakers are advocating for the creation of a state-level commission to enhance the state government’s efficiency. Still, some at the local level contend the problem lies squarely with lawmakers in Columbus.

“With all due respect to the state, some of the problems we have with property taxes are due to legislative changes,” Denise Driehaus, Hamilton County commissioner and group member, said, per WCMH-TV. “I don’t want to be overly generous to the state when some of the problems are a result of the state.