COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — Some Republican lawmakers at the Statehouse want to eliminate the state income tax for all Ohioans by 2030, joining nine other states that currently have no state income tax.
“We’ve been working on eliminating the income tax for decades,” Rep. Adam Mathews (R-Lebanon) said. “We had a peak in 1984 of nine tax brackets with the highest at 9.5%.”
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Reps. Mathews and Brian Lampton (R-Beavercreek) and state Sens. George Lang (R-West Chester) and Stephen A. Huffman (R-Tipp City) have introduced sister bills in the House and Senate. The House is proposing a flat rate of 1.17% by 2028, while the Senate wants to get to a flat rate of 2.7% by 2026, before ultimately eliminating the income tax altogether.
“We’ve been trying to get rid of the income tax and every time we’ve cut it, we increase revenue,” Mathews said.
But across the aisle, members of the Ohio House Finance Committee, like Rep. Daniel Troy (D-Willowick), are skeptical about what this might mean for the state.