OHIO State Republicans at work on combination tax

The tax would be based on sales and business property and payroll.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- A plan by majority House Republicans to simplify business taxes would replace the current inventory and tangible personal property taxes with a combination tax on "business activity," said a lawmaker who's been involved in crafting the plan.
"It's some variation of the Business Activity Tax," state Rep. Charles Blasdel, of East Liverpool, R-1st, said of the proposed tax. Under the House GOP plan, it would replace the property taxes paid by businesses on equipment and machinery.
The so-called "Business Activity Tax" was discussed in an earlier tax-reform plan. Generally, it would be based on sales and business property and payroll.
The House GOP business tax-reform plan would also do away with the net-worth measure of corporate franchise tax for all corporations except financial institutions and public utilities, Blasdel said.
Blasdel said the proposal should be considered a starting point for discussion.
"Let's throw it out there and talk about it," Blasdel said. "It's a work in progress."
Part of plan
Lawmakers would work to hold harmless school districts and other local governments that receive revenue from inventory and tangible personal property taxes if the plan moves forward, Blasdel said.
"I think it's worth looking at," Blasdel said. "You've got to have a starting point."
Dwight Crum, a spokesman for House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, said the House Ways and Means Committee could begin hearings on the GOP business tax reform plan next week.
In trying to reform business taxes, minority House Democrats said they plan to work to lessen taxes on small business, to scrutinize aggressive tax-planning by big corporations and to pay attention to tax abatements and credits with an eye toward eliminating those that no longer serve a "significant public purpose."