Ohio property tax reform is long overdue

The American Dream and homeownership have been linked for generations. From Eaton to Xenia, Springboro to Troy, each surrounding community and county, families are laying down roots, raising children and investing in places they have known for generations.

Recent years have seen homeowners and commercial property owners facing a new, growing reality: growing property taxes that are uncoupled from their ability to pay. All someone has to do is go online to your Auditor’s Website and check the property valuation and summary for how much taxes have risen on your property in the last decade.

For most, property taxes have soared while personal income has stayed stagnant, while at the same time additional property tax levies have been added. Most seniors who live on fixed incomes, new families struggling to purchase their first home and residents have felt the squeeze of rising prices and taxes.

The frustration for many isn’t just the size of the tax bill, but unpredictable tax bills, understanding the process, and even control. This has led to a citizen-led statewide ballot initiative in the works whose goal is to eliminate property taxes in the Buckeye state all together. Republicans in the Ohio General Assembly responding to homeowner’s concerns pushed for reforms to slow runaway property tax growth.

Ohio policy experts have long cautioned Ohio’s property tax setup does permit governments to benefit automatically if home values rise without a ballot vote.

This column first published in the Dayton Daily News, where Rob Scott is a weekly opinion contributor. See the rest of it here.