OHIO Lawmakers hoping to simplify tax laws

Both houses hope to change the tax code to help the economy.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- Efforts are under way in both the Ohio House and Senate to simplify state taxes for individuals and businesses, but lawmakers in each chamber differ as to when those efforts will bear fruit.
State Rep. Charles Blasdel, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said that his committee wants to unveil a tax-reform proposal soon and possibly pass it before lawmakers leave the capital city in May for summer recess.
"We want to get moving on it," the East Liverpool Republican said of the proposal that will cover both personal and corporate state taxes.
Meanwhile, state Sen. Ron Amstutz, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means and Economic Development Committee, said he doesn't see major upper-chamber action on tax reform until possibly after the November general election.
"I don't know if we're going to see a major public process until then," Amstutz, a Wooster Republican, said.
In the House, efforts to simplify taxes will generally move toward reducing the number of personal income tax brackets from the current nine to a still-to-be-determined smaller number, Blasdel said.
On the corporate side, Blasdel said House efforts will likely look toward possibly eliminating such taxes as the tangible personal property tax and the inventory tax and replacing them with other mechanisms.
"We're looking to broaden the base and lower the rate," Blasdel said. "We would be looking at something that's revenue neutral. ... The whole gist is to make Ohio a more competitive state," Blasdel said.
What's needed
Amstutz, who leads the Senate's tax-writing panel, said he's encouraging those interested in changing the state tax system to reach a consensus on a possible bill.
"There needs to be something specific in order for us to be able to move on it," Amstutz said.
"The main purpose is to make Ohio's economy stronger than it would otherwise be if we didn't reform our tax code," Amstutz said.
Amstutz said he's met with groups ranging from business interests to public schools to the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.
"You've got to start somewhere," he said.
Amstutz said he didn't believe public hearings on tax reform would be held until January.
"I want the Senate to do two things: Focus on the issue, but I also want us to take the time to do it right," Amstutz said.
Written in 1932, the state tax code doesn't take into account the shift from a smokestack economy, or Southern states' increasing competition for jobs, state officials say.
Republican Gov. Bob Taft called for sweeping tax reforms in his 2003 State of the State address, but the General Assembly instead spent most of the year grappling with a projected $4 billion budget shortfall.