Ohio Must Return to a Progressive Fair Tax System

[irishbobcat]

Ohio Must Return to a Progressive Fair Tax System

Low-and middle-income Ohioans pay a much greater share of their income in state and local taxes than the state's most affluent do, according to a study by Policy Matters Ohio.

The top 1 percent of non-elderly Ohio families by income, who earned at least $352,000 in 2007, on average pay 7.8 percent of their income in state and local taxes. By contrast, the lowest fifth, who make less than $17,000, on average pay 12.0 percent. Families in the middle fifth of the income spectrum, who make between $32,000 and $50,000, on average pay 11.0 percent.

Recent changes in Ohio's state and local tax system have increased the disparity. The report found that Ohio ranks 28th among states in the fairness of its tax system, based on the share of their income affluent Ohioans are paying in state and local taxes compared to that of lower- and middle-income Ohioans. Last time the study was done, which covered the law as of 2002, Ohio ranked 14th by this measure.

The national report, Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States, was produced by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and released in Ohio by Policy Matters Ohio and The Center for Community Solutions. It reviews every state's tax system based on permanent changes in law enacted through October 2009 and income levels from 2007 (the most recent year that necessary data is available across states).

"No one would ever design an income tax with lower tax rates for the best-off taxpayers," noted Matthew Gardner, ITEP's executive director and lead author of the study. "But that is exactly what Ohio's tax system overall does: It allows the very wealthiest individuals to contribute less of their income, on average, than middle- and lower-income families must pay. In other words, Ohio has an unfair, regressive tax system."
Dennis Spisak-Green Party of Ohio Candidate for Governor
www.votespisak.org/governor/
www.dennisspisak.com