Nearly three months after Mayor Aftab Pureval stood on the inauguration stage and pledged to bring Cincinnati a detailed earnings tax hike proposal within 60 days, City Hall is still empty-handed. There is no draft ordinance, no official rate, and no ballot language for voters to pick apart. Pureval says he is still huddling with council members and the city administration and hopes a proposal could be ready later this year for the Nov. 3 ballot.
On Friday, April 3, the Cincinnati Business Courier reported that Pureval said he “continues to meet with council members and the city administration about a plan” and that “we have been having earnest conversations … We haven’t been able to find an agreement yet,” according to the story. In other words, city leaders have not settled on a specific rate, timeline or package of spending priorities. As reported by Local 12.
Promise At The Inauguration
In his Jan. 6 inauguration speech, Pureval framed an earnings tax increase as a way to shore up public safety and “disrupt poverty,” and he set expectations by promising a concrete proposal within 60 days. Cincinnati’s current earnings tax stands at 1.8 percent of gross pay, a level city officials point out is lower than many peer cities in Ohio, which has been central to the mayor’s argument that there is room to raise new revenue. This timeline and context were laid out in coverage of the Jan. 6 address. According to WVXU.
What The Money Would Fund
Pureval and his supporters have consistently said any extra dollars from a tax bump would be steered toward public safety, affordable housing and programs designed to disrupt poverty, along with investments that support minority-owned businesses. Those priorities were highlighted in inauguration coverage and in early stories about the potential increase, which also connected the mayor’s push to recent public-safety spending decisions. As reported by WLWT.
Ballot Math And Timing
For the tax question to land on the May primary ballot, City Council would have needed to approve an ordinance and send it to the Board of Elections by early February. That filing window has already come and gone, making a May appearance effectively off the table and helping explain why the mayor is now pointing to November instead. The calendar crunch has sharply limited any hope of a quick rollout. According to WVXU.
The Ideas Behind The Number
The push to raise the earnings tax did not materialize out of nowhere. A 2024 Cincinnati Futures Commission report recommended a modest increase, to about 1.95 percent, as one option to help close structural budget gaps and pay for growth initiatives. The commission’s final report outlines a broader toolkit that includes small tax changes, asset management moves and fee reforms to stabilize city finances. The Futures Commission’s final report is available online. See the Cincinnati Futures Commission report.
If Pureval decides to move ahead, the earliest action is likely to surface in the Budget, Finance & Governance Committee and the Public Safety & Quality of Life Committee, where draft language and public hearings would typically appear. City Council’s committee calendar and legislation are posted on the city’s Legistar portal, where residents can follow upcoming meetings and find attachments. Per City of Cincinnati Legistar…