County Auditors Call for Property Tax Relief

Many Ohio homeowners have seen their property tax bills increase in recent years as voters have approved new levies and taxable property values have been driven upward by rapidly rising home prices. Addressing this issue is a top priority for Ohio’s County Auditors, a bipartisan group gathered in Clark County on February 21 to advocate for legislative proposals that would provide relief to Ohio taxpayers.

Today, Property Tax Relief Briefing was at the Bushnell Center in Springfield to share tax relief proposals developed by the County Auditor’s Association of Ohio (CAAO). Logan County Auditor Jack Reser was joined by a bipartisan group of Auditors from around Southwest Ohio including Warren County Auditor and CAAO President Matt Nolan, Montgomery County Auditor Karl Keith, and Union County Auditor Andrea Weaver.

“County Auditors serve on the frontlines of the property tax system here in Ohio and have worked together to create legislative proposals that will provide meaningful relief to the Ohioans who need it most,” Reser said.
The CAAO proposals include:

• Expanding the Homestead Exemption
  The Homestead Exemption is a property tax savings program for 65 years and older homeowners and homeowners with disabilities. It exempts the first $28,000 of a property’s value from taxation. To qualify, a homeowner must be at least 65 years of age or permanently disabled. The Ohio-adjusted gross income for a qualifying household can be no more than $40,000. (not including social security) The CAAO supports increasing the exemption amount and raising the income limit to help keep Ohioans on fixed incomes in their homes.
  This statewide program, designed to keep residents on fixed incomes in their homes, has been falling short of its goal. The number of Ohio homeowners who qualify for the program has dropped since the income limit was reinstated in 2014. Meanwhile, those who do qualify have seen their benefits stagnate as home values have risen in recent years, according to Reser.
  “For years, costs rose for our homeowners and their Homestead benefits did not keep up. That has hurt our seniors, particularly those on fixed incomes,” Reser said.
• Expanding the Owner Occupancy Credit
  Ohio’s Owner Occupancy Credit provides residents who own and live in their home with a small 2.5% discount on most tax levies. The Auditors propose increasing the amount of that credit to provide additional tax relief to those homeowners.
• Limiting school levy growth
  On most property tax levies, the tax rate decreases when property values increase. This protects taxpayers from large tax increases caused by large valuation increases. One exception to that protection is a mechanism in Ohio law that guarantees school districts receive a minimum of 20 mills of taxes. When a school district reaches this “20-mill floor,” when values increase, the tax rate cannot be reduced. This causes taxes to increase one-to-one with values on those school levies.
  As a result of large valuation increases throughout Ohio in the past few years, many property owners in these school districts saw their tax bills increase by 15% or more, largely due to the effect of the 20-mill floor. The auditors propose capping the revenue growth on certain school levies to an inflationary index, which would limit revenue growth for districts operating at the 20-mill floor. Of Ohio’s 615 school districts, more than 460 are at or near the 20-mill floor.
• Creating new tax relief programs
  County auditors also support the creation of new tax relief programs aimed at protecting low- and moderate-income Ohioans. Their ideas include tax deferrals, income tax credits, or abatements based on a long-term resident’s inability to afford their rising property tax burden. These ideas would allow the state to target relief to the residents who need it the most.
• Tax Relief Briefings
  “Now more than ever, we must act,” Reser said. “The property tax crisis is a pressing issue impacting homeowners across the state, and the County Auditor’s Association is committed to finding real solutions that will provide much-needed relief for millions of Ohioans.”
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Today’s event was part of a series of Tax Relief Briefings that the CAAO is hosting around the state to discuss property tax issues and present their solutions. Reser encourages property owners to contact their state legislators to ask them to support the auditors’ proposals. Ohioans can look up the contact information for their State Legislatures Representatives at www.ohiohouse.gov and State Senators at www.ohiosenate.gov.