House Passes Roemer's Bad Debt Relief Bill

COLUMBUS  – State Representative Bill Roemer (R – Richfield) today announced the passage of House Bill 513. The bill creates a “bad debt refund” for tobacco wholesalers, similar to the current sales tax refund for retail bad debt. Simply put, a wholesaler who faces bad debt from tobacco sales will now be able to claim a refund from the state for the tax they pay upfront.

“This legislation provides wholesalers throughout the state with an avenue to avoid being on the hook for bad debt,” said Roemer. “This simple change will provide relief for these wholesalers at minimal cost to the state.

The wholesalers would not be required to claim this refund. Rather, it is a tool provided to them to help ease their fiscal responsibility for bad debts.

Estimates from 2014 from the Ohio Wholesale Marketers Association found a likely fiscal impact of less than $200,000, and a maximum of under $1 million. This illustrates that the state budget will not be significantly impacted from providing this relief for the private sector.

House Bill 513 will now head to the Ohio Senate for further consideration.