Photo: Brian Massie of the Ohio Property Tax Elimination Committee. (WEWS)
While Gov. Mike DeWine warns that Ohio’s sales tax would have to boost to 20% if a property tax repeal proposal passes in November, organizers of the campaign to repeal Ohio’s property tax insist it’s not their problem.
Rising property taxes have reached a breaking point for many Ohioans.
“Constantly rising property taxes are really driving people out of their homes,” said Brian Massie, who lives in Concord Township.
Massie is helping lead the charge to lower bills. He is a member of the Committee to Eliminate Property Taxes in Ohio, which is currently collecting signatures to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot.
“Ohioans are fed up,” he said. “They want freedom and liberties and I don’t know why these legislators don’t understand that.”
The campaign is seeking to put the amendment on the ballot in November 2026. It needs approximately 415,000 valid signatures and intends to submit approximately 620,000.
Both Democratic and Republican politicians, like DeWine, say this could create a major funding gap for vital services.
“It would be just devastating for all types of local governments, starting with schools, but also police, fire and child services,” DeWine said Thursday.
Geauga County is currently working raise awareness of problems this may be their cause.
The nonpartisan research group Policy Matters Ohio found plenty of objections to the proposal, citing a study by the conservative think tank Tax Foundation. The report indicated that if the proposal is passed, Ohio would need to make up more than $20 billion within a year.
“Ohio’s sales tax would increase to 17, 18, 19, 20% sales tax on purchased products,” the governor said. “It would just be absolutely devastating.”
Policy Matters’ Zach Schiller explained that sales tax rates vary by county, but the base rate is 5.75%.
On a $100 purchase, the sales tax would be about $6. However, if the amendment is successful, sales tax could be an additional $20 on the same purchase.
“If you raise the sales tax, it’s going to hit poor people especially hard,” Schiller said.
Some Ohioans say they are not concerned about the sales tax boost because it is not mandatory to purchase the products. Massie added that there are other ways to make up that money.
“They need to reduce the size of government,” he said. “They need to cut spending on public schools.”
According to Massie, scaling back government could mean getting rid of county auditors and treasurers.
Schiller said this is completely unrealistic. There is no way to make $20 billion by eliminating 176 jobs, let alone that they are needed for more than just overhauling property taxes, he said.
“The idea that there is some gigantic, bloated part of the government that we can just cut down and pay less taxes as a result is a wildly overblown idea,” Schiller said. I think they should put their money where their mouth is. Give us the facts. Don’t just make sweeping statements like, “Well, we can save money by cutting government, give us the details.”
He also rejected the claim that schools spend money recklessly.
“The majority of property taxes go to schools, and at least 80% of school revenues go to pay teachers and other line staff,” he added. “You want to get rid of teachers, get rid of property taxes.”
Massie said finding a way to raise money is not the campaign’s problem.
“They expect me and our group to get an answer to the question of how we are going to replace all these property taxes,” he said incredulously. “State legislators have an obligation to go back to the drawing board,” he said.
Maybe if lawmakers didn’t employ taxpayer dollars to fund their pet projects like Cleveland Browns Stadium, Massie said, the state would be in a better position.
Another way to catch up would be to dramatically boost state income taxes. Republicans have been eliminating tax brackets and helping Ohio’s wealthiest residents for years.
Several GOP legislators told us they are not interested in increasing the income tax.
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This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and are published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication on other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
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