Vivek Ramaswamy promises largest property tax rollback in Ohio history, but big questions remain

“Rolling back the tax base would mean deep, immediate cuts to schools, fire stations, and services in every county,” the report states. Right now, grassroots organizers around Ohio are working to eliminate property taxes outright. State lawmakers take that effort seriously enough that they’ve passed a raft of major property tax reforms, with even more proposals working through committee. Last year, a working group made of former lawmakers, school officials, and auditors spent months wrestling over property tax reform. Although they endorsed several of the bills lawmakers later approved, the effort was a showcase for just how difficult it is to balance interests when it comes to cutting property taxes. If it’s as simple as Ramaswamy portrays it to be, wouldn’t someone have stepped in to untangle the knot already? Can he do that? Ramaswamy’s plan is light on specifics, and no governor can wave a magic wand to bring property taxes down. Ohio Capital Journal reached out to Ramaswamy’s campaign for details about his proposal but they didn’t offer any. Instead, in a written statement, campaign spokesperson Connie Luck said “our campaign doesn’t take policy advice from the Democrat staffers who ran up an $8 billion state budget shortfall and lost 300,000 jobs 15 years ago.” Howard Fleeter, an economist and school funding expert, was left scratching his head. Property taxes had been climbing for years, even before the pandemic. Does Ramaswamy really want to go back to the middle of the pandemic or does he mean before it? Is he talking about tax rates or the amount homeowners actually pay? Does his plan apply to residential property only or does he include taxes on public utilities’ property? “I think the burden is on Ramaswamy to show his work here,” he said.