Ohio House Passes Bill to Evaluate State's Tax Structure

The Ohio House of Representatives has passed House Bill 9, which would improve the way state tax expenditures are tracked and monitored.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Terry Boose (R-Norwalk), creates a committee consisting of six legislators and the Tax Commissioner to periodically review all of the state’s tax expenditures, or commonly known as loopholes or exemptions. Each existing expenditure would have to be reviewed at least once every eight years.

After review, the committee will then be required to make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding continuation, modification or repeal of existing expenditures.

“I am pleased to see the unanimous passage of House Bill 9, the tax expenditure review committee,” said Boose. “The intention of this legislation is to hold all taxable entities accountable and to be sure that we are all playing on an equal ground. It is important that we look over existing laws to ensure they are still providing the same benefits and are working as intended.”

There are 128 exemptions in Ohio’s tax code, according to the Ohio Department of Taxation. Each year, the state forgoes $8.2 billion in revenue through exemptions and tax credits. House Bill 9 would generate a cost-benefit analysis to further examine the economic impacts of those exemptions.

The bill now goes to the Ohio Senate.