Leader Sykes calls governor's tax proposal "irresponsible" and "reckless"

Ohio House Democratic Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) today issued the following statement in response to Governor DeWine’s call to abandon fair tax reform in order to break ongoing Republican gridlock and quickly pass a budget – regardless of its fiscal impact on the state’s bottom line.

“We have a constitutional obligation to pass a responsible, balanced budget, and rushing a bill through that guts critical tax fairness provisions without considering the fiscal impact on our state’s bottom line is not only irresponsible, it’s reckless.

“When the governor released his initial proposal, we were concerned about its fiscal stability. Refusing to address a critical component of the budget is not the way to balance a budget or invest in Ohio’s working people and families.

“The truth is that we need more tax fairness in Ohio, not less. It would be fiscally irresponsible to remove the House’s fair tax reforms from this budget. House Democrats remain committed to delivering a real, responsible budget for taxpayers, and I urge the governor and majority party leaders to work out a deal that keeps our promise to be responsible stewards of taxpayer money.”