Reggie Fields’ article in Sunday’s Plain Dealer highlights Governor Kasich’s plan to cut Ohioans personal income tax. The highlight of this plan is a $1 billion tax cut by 2016 for all Ohioans fueled entirely by economic growth.
For conservatives this is a win. It’s a revenue neutral tax that is offset by a reduction in personal income tax for Ohioans. Even with this plan in place Ohio will stillhave a lower rate than Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota and Texas.
Also, Americans for Tax Reform has signed off. They’ve acknowledged that a plan like the one being discussed is still consistent with Governor Kasich’s pledge to not raise taxes because it’s revenue neutral.
Not surprisingly, Democrats are already discounting the amount as inconsequential to the average Ohioan and want to increase the taxes on severance. They forget that $1 billion is going back into the pockets of Ohioans who will then spend it, for the most part, in Ohio. I’m pretty sure that people spending an extra $1 billion in Ohio’s economy could probably be classified as a good thing.
It’s also not surprising that Democrats are asking for a much higher tax. Dale Butland from Innovation Ohio wants to see higher taxes because; “It’s completely implausible that these companies are going to leave billions of dollars in profits on the table if they are asked to pay the same tax rates that they already pay in Texas.”
The glaring problem with Butland’s statement is that there isn’t an income tax in Texas that employees have to pay. Comparing the two, once you factor in all the facts, is pretty ridiculous.
At the end of the day you should be the one deciding where and how your money is spent, not the state. A $1 billion tax cut for Ohio is exactly what we need to keep our economy moving in the right direction.
