Ohio House committee approves delayed tax cut

COLUMBUS (AP) — On a party-line vote, an Ohio House committee has approved a delay in the last-round of a five-year income tax reduction.

The House Finance committee, controlled by Democrats, voted 17-13 today to approve the legislation, which also includes a 5 percent pay cut for state lawmakers.

Republicans have said it would amount to a tax increase if the Legislature waits until 2011 to trim income taxes by a final 4.2 percent.

The legislation is designed to plug a roughly $850 million gap in the current state budget after the Ohio Supreme Court derailed Gov. Ted Strickland’s plan to put slot machines at race tracks.

The bill is scheduled for a floor vote Wednesday. It would then head to the Republican-controlled Ohio Senate.