tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31730692.post-9278665120326460922008-03-10T18:50:00.006-04:002008-03-10T19:19:28.341-04:002008-03-10T19:19:28.341-04:00One of the best sources of information on tax policy as it relates to education and local property taxes is the <a href="http://www.etpi-ohio.org/">Education Tax Policy Institute </a>(ETPI). Their analysis is an excellent way to understand why Ohio voters are rejecting school levies, at a 50% or higher rate. The answers they provide show that it's not because voters hate education that levies are failing. In fact, it's just the opposite. Voters have taxed themselves locally to one of the highest rates in the nation. So it's no wonder that voters are tired of shouldering so much of the burder through local property taxes. <br /><br />If you google "property tax burden" or any other combination of "tax" and "burden", you're likely to come up with a list of links to the Tax Foundation (or one of the ubiquitous news reports that rely on the Tax Foundation to push the theme that darnit Ohio's taxes are just too high). One of those <a href="http://blog.cleveland.com/wideopen/2007/10/ohios_tax_burden_ranking.html">unfortunate news pieces </a>is here, at the PD site from just last December. <br /> <span id="fullpost"><br />But the ETPI debunks the methodology used by the Tax Foundation pretty thoroughly, and shows that the ranking the Tax Foundation annually uses and which show Ohio's "tax burden" as being one of the top ten in the country are misleading to say the least. As ETPI explains, the TF rankings lump a lot of taxes together and weight them. But what interests me, and probably a lot of other voters, is how much of our taxes for schools come not from corporate and personal income taxes or sales taxes, but instead from local property taxes. As the ETPI shows, Ohio's statewide income tax is fairly low, or at least average, while our property tax rates, which are voted on directly and locally by the people who pay them, are actually very high. <br /><br /><blockquote>Interestingly, Ohio’s state-levied taxes (i.e., those enacted by the state legislature) amount to $1,733 per capita and <strong>rank 34th</strong>, lower than all but 16 states. Conversely, <strong>Ohio’s local taxes are $1,283 per capita, 9th highest in the nation</strong>. (It might also be observed here that,under Ohio law, much of this local burden has been imposed directly by local voters rather than elected officials.) Combining these state and local burdens yields the figure of $3,016 in per capita state and local taxes, and the ranking of 20th, explained earlier. (my emphasis)</blockquote><br /><br />Go to the <a href="http://www.etpi-ohio.org/">ETPI site </a>and click on "Ohio's tax ranking: setting the record straight" for the full PDF that the above came from. <br /><br />So, as I've said before, it's up to the governor and legislature to change the system. Voters have taxed themselves at a high rate. But they can't take anymore. The system has to change. <br /><br /></span>ohdavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13301100314546526009noreply@blogger.com7