By Brian Massie, A Watchman on the Wall
Ohio property tax working group nearing deadline as lawmakers return to Statehouse
Excerpt from article:
Ohio property tax working group nearing deadline as lawmakers return to Statehouse
By: Nick Evans
Posted 6:33 AM, Sep 16, 2025
The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
The Ohio property tax reform group set up by Gov. Mike DeWine is racing toward a Sept. 30 deadline.
At its most recent hearing, members blew through a long list of ideas including targeted tax breaks modeled on the abatements popular for new builds around Ohio and removing obscure — but important — tax credits some contend are ripe for abuse.
Meanwhile, the state lawmakers responsible for actually doing something with the working group’s recommendations are returning to the state Capitol.
If Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman is any indication, a summer’s absence hasn’t made them any fonder of the governor’s efforts.
If Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman is any indication, a summer’s absence hasn’t made them any fonder of the governor’s efforts.
“It’s my — (I) would say intention, let me soften that slightly to expectation — to put those issues up for veto override votes in the month of October,” Huffman said at a press conference last week.
Although Huffman has looked skeptically on the working group, he pointed to the same measure, House Bill 186, as legislation that will be getting a lot of attention as lawmakers go forward.
And like some working group members, he explained voters’ seemingly receptive response to outright repealing property taxes at the ballot box has sharpened focus and dulled opposition.
“Many of the members in my caucus have come to me and said there has been a considerable softening among local governments about what’s going on,” Huffman said. “Now, is that because there’s a poll that says 61% – 21% that this would pass? Maybe. Is it because apparently there is big national money behind this thing, or (so) we’re told? Maybe.”
“But I think everybody knows,” he added, “that by Jan. 1, 2027, if we abolish property taxes, it is a whole new world.”
Editorial Comments:
House Chairman Matt Huffman is clueless…and he would not even meet with the Committee to Abolish Ohio Property Taxes.
“..apparently there is big national money behind this thing or (so) we’re told…Matt Huffman
Here are our three friends Bettie, Millie, and Lilly expressing their opinion on Huffman’s comments. They are very animated…They say “let’s axe the tax”…
Categories: Uncategorized