State Sen. Lou Terhar (R-Cincinnati) said it would be “a mistake” for the Ohio Senate to support a decrease to the tax breaks small businesses receive in the state.
“There are a range of issues with the House budget that concern us in the Senate. The first would be the cut of the small business tax, which we believe is a mistake,” Terhar said.
“Once we take a position on how small businesses should be treated, we should stick with that position,” he added.
Terhar said that if “you’re going to encourage small businesses” by giving them a tax cut “and then take that away,” it will make business owners wonder if they “really want to invest in Ohio.”
Under the House’s version of the budget bill, Ohio’s Business Investment Income Deduction would be lowered to $100,000. As of now, small businesses don’t pay taxes on the first $250,000 of income, but that figure would drop down to $100,000 under House Bill 166.
Terhar’s comments came during a recent forum on the state budget hosted by Ohio’s Future Foundation and its chairman, former Congressman Jim Renacci.
“One of the concerns is we still do not have a state that’s growing businesses,” Renacci concurred.
“The one thing good about our state budget is it has the balance, the one thing bad about our state budget is that it can use sometimes numbers that may not be 100 percent when you’re talking about revenues and you’re talking about projections. You might be able to project a little higher than anticipated,” he said, noting that the revenue projections in the House’s bill “might be a little rich.”
Gov. Mike DeWine has expressed support for the House’s version of the budget, but it faces resistance from Terhar and his Republican colleagues in the Senate. The two chambers have until June 30 to reach an agreement.
Ohio’s Future Foundation hosted the forum on May 23 in the Cincinnati area and spoke with Union Township Trustee John McGraw and Cincinnati Councilwoman Amy Murray about their concerns with the budget.
The full forum can be watched below:
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Background Photo “Ohio Senate Floor” by Antony-22. CC BY 4.0.
