Ohio's property tax revolt: Vivek, Acton offer different solutions

The Buckeye state  is experiencing something we have not seen in decades: a full-scale taxpayer revolt.

Across Ohio, homeowners are opening their property tax bills and asking a simple question: How much longer can this continue? Personally, my property value went up 10 percent, and I just experienced voters passing one of the largest 37 year school bond levy beginning in 2027.

For years, politicians in Columbus ignored the warning signs. Property values surged. Tax bills climbed. Seniors on fixed incomes watched their housing costs rise even though their homes were already paid for. Families have seen thousands of dollars disappear from their household budgets.

According to The Buckeye Institute, Ohio carries the eighth-highest local tax burden in the nation as a percentage of income. Buckeye researchers argue Ohio’s sprawling system of local governments, taxing authorities and special districts has created a tax structure that is increasingly difficult for homeowners to sustain.

Now, with the governor’s race underway, both Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton acknowledge Ohio has a property tax problem. 

Acton’s plan is built around targeted relief. She has proposed expanding Ohio’s Homestead Exemption, increasing eligibility for seniors, creating rebates for homeowners facing significant tax increases, restricting private tax-lien sales and maintaining the state’s current school-funding framework.

Ramaswamy argues Ohio’s property tax system itself is fundamentally broken and has proposed rolling property taxes back to pre-pandemic levels as part of a broader effort to reduce the tax burden on Ohio homeowners.

The contrast is clear. Acton wants to make the current system less painful. Ramaswamy wants to change the system itself.

As someone who talks to taxpayers every day, I believe Ohio voters are increasingly looking beyond rebates and exemptions. They are questioning the entire premise of a tax that never ends.

Think about it. You buy a home. You make mortgage payments for 30 years. You finally own it free and clear. Yet every year, the government sends another bill. Fail to pay it, and eventually the government can take the property.

Many Ohioans no longer view this as ownership.

That sentiment is driving the property tax movement now sweeping Ohio. The Buckeye Institute recently warned that many Ohioans are becoming “fearful of losing their homes” because of rising property taxes and noted that growing frustration has fueled calls for a constitutional amendment to abolish property taxes altogether. Whether one supports abolition or not, the fact that such proposals are gaining traction should be a warning to policymakers that the status quo is no longer acceptable to many voters. 

Of course, there are legitimate questions about Ramaswamy’s approach. Property taxes generate roughly $24 billion annually for schools, police departments, fire departments, libraries and local governments across Ohio. Any proposal that significantly reduces or eliminates those revenues must explain how those services would be funded in the future. 

But Acton faces difficult questions as well.

Ohio taxpayers are increasingly skeptical that another exemption, rebate or government program will solve the problem. For years, elected officials have promised relief while property tax bills continued to rise. Many homeowners are no longer asking for help paying the bill. They are asking why the bill keeps growing in the first place.

Buckeye points to what they describe as the root cause: Ohio’s extraordinarily complex local government structure. The state has more than 6,500 local government authorities and 49 different types of taxing entities capable of levying taxes. The Buckeye Institute argues that the ever-rising cost of maintaining this system is a major driver of increasing property taxes.

Before asking taxpayers for more money, government should be willing to examine whether the current structure is delivering services efficiently. Consolidation, shared services, spending restraint and greater transparency should all be part of the conversation.

The debate over property taxes is no longer just about budgets. It is about trust.

Ohioans are asking whether government has become too dependent on a revenue source that grows automatically while family incomes do not.

The 2026 governor’s race may ultimately come down to a simple choice.

Do Ohioans want government to provide relief from high property taxes? Or do they want government to fundamentally rethink property taxes altogether?

Rob Scott is the Kettering Clerk of Court, an attorney and a small-business owner. Contact him at rob@robscott.us.