No one looks forward to being taxed, it’s a painful cycle. While there are many different ‘kinds’ of taxes, the one that seems the most controversial is property tax.
Many seek to amend the Ohio Constitution to ban property taxation; is that the right answer?
It’s a difficult argument to find amends with, sure, no one wants to pay their taxes. The issue with these proposed cuts is the cuts that would have to be made alongside. The Ohio Capital Journal, who reviewed ‘Ax Ohio Tax’ (a popular movement who wishes to get rid of Ohio property tax) quotes them “imagine working your whole life to pay off your home only to lose it because you couldn’t keep up with a government tax bill, it’s happening right here in Ohio to seniors, veterans, and working families.” Property taxes do harm residents; that’s an unfortunate truth. Another undeniable fact is that those taxes are what keep the community together, funding schools, libraries, everything that holds communities together. What’s the right answer; is there even one? Unfortunately, there’s not a right answer; everyone’s sacrificing something.
‘Ax Ohio Tax’ has continued their movement, and they’re nearing the 413,000 signatures they need to put their issue on the ballot to amend the Ohio Constitution. The issue here being, according to Policy Matters Ohio in January, around three-fifths of property taxes fund our public schools, with the surplus tax funding fire and police departments, libraries, townships and city and county governments. While these taxes do bring about harm, it’s less of an issue of what’s right and wrong and more so about who would find more harm in either outcome of this situation. If property tax was removed, other taxes would increase to fill the void in funding that property tax would leave. To compensate, something like sales tax could go all the way up to 18 or 19%, property tax is a primary source of funding for our state. The Ohio Capital Journal stated, “While Ax Ohio Tax raises the spectre of low-income Ohioans losing their homes to foreclosure, massive sales taxes would fall even more heavily on poor Ohioans than property taxes do.” It’s a lose-lose situation; no one has a solution to this unfortunate problem.
The issue is just the lack of a good solution; what should be done? There could definitely be other tax reforms to compensate, but those propositions should be left to those who are educated on our taxation. As much as anyone would love to save money, property tax isn’t the cut to make; it’s too important to our state’s funding and the preservation of our communities. In order to protect both our public education and our communities, we can’t cut their funding, and until better tax reforms are proposed which both protect funding and create a more fair form of taxation, it’s necessary to allow the current system to remain. While it’s not anyone’s first choice, taxes protect our communities; while they should be organized better and distributed in a more fair manner, it can’t be at the expense of its dependents.
