Budget standoff means late tax refunds for some

COLUMBUS (AP) — The inability of state lawmakers to agree on whether there should be an income-tax-cut delay means that Ohioans who file early paper returns will get their refunds weeks later than normal.

The Ohio Department of Taxation is waiting to print about 1.8 million tax- information booklets until there is certainty over what the tax rates will be for 2009.

For the past two months, Gov. Ted Strickland and fellow Democrats who control the House have supported delaying the final 4.2 percent income-tax reduction to fill an $850 million budget hole. But Republicans who control the Senate have refused to go along, saying it’s a tax increase.

Because of the printing delay, information won’t get to taxpayers until weeks later than normal. That will slow down the refund process. If lawmakers were to agree on the tax change and if Strickland were to sign a bill by Dec. 21, Ohioans wouldn’t get the tax booklets until Feb. 1, Kohlstrand said. If there is no agreement on the tax change by Dec. 31, books reflecting the tax cut can go to the printer because lawmakers can’t change a tax rate for a year that has already ended.

“We don’t want to guess” on the rates, said Department of Taxation spokesman John Kohlstrand. “We have to get them right. They are a critical part of the income-tax collection.”

Uncertainty about the tax rates this late in the year is unprecedented, Kohlstrand said.

Usually, tax booklets are sent to the printer in early December so they can be sent to the homes of more than 900,000 Ohioans in the first week of January, while an additional 900,000 go to banks, post offices and libraries.

Those who file their taxes using computer software shouldn’t be heavily affected by the delay, despite tax software such as TurboTax going to stores before the tax rates are known. Users would just need to download an update early next year.

Last year, 51,770 people filed tax returns in January, with 47,113 seeking a refund. The refunds came to an estimated total of $8.2 million to $9.4 million.

Amy Johnson, spokeswoman for the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants, described the delay as an “inconvenience” for paper filers.

“It will be an inconvenience, I’m assuming, for those people who really rely on traditional paper forms,” Johnson said.