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Business could be asked for cash By Lynn Hulsey Business could bear up to half the cost of any tax increase used to improve school funding, according to Ohio School Funding Task Force guidelines released Tuesday. The group, made up of the governor, legislators, and state budget and education officials, is crafting an alternative to the school funding system ruled unconstitutional in March by the Ohio Supreme Court. The court gave lawmakers a year to develop a solution. Tuesday, the task force discussed a 10-point draft list of school funding policy assumptions, including a proposal that businesses pay a proportional share of any tax increase or up to 50 percent of that increase. Business taxes make up 27 percent of the state's general fund revenue base right now, said R. Gregory Browning, director of the Office of Budget and Management. The assumptions outlined by Browning acknowledge the need for an increase in school funding. The current formula will be restructured. Some additional education funding can be found by "belt-tightening" in other portions of the state budget, he said. Money for school facilities would come from the general revenue and from local communities, Browning said. "We're not talking about multi-million dollar tax increases right now," Browning said, after the meeting. He did not specify what business taxes could increase, but said business' overall share of the state budget would increase by a small amount. Browning said any significant tax increase would be put before voters, even if such a vote is not constitutionally required. That statewide vote would involve a constitutional amendment, according to the draft proposal. "What if you put this on the ballot and the people turn it down?" asked Senate Minority Leader Ben Espy, D-Columbus. "By going to the voters it's passing the buck." Curt Steiner, sitting in for Gov. George Voinovich, said the administration intends to craft a plan that has a good chance of gaining voter approval. He said if the state imposes a tax increase without a popular vote, opponents might place an anti-tax referendum on the ballot and defeat the increase. The assumptions also call for improving educational performance and accountability, continuing the use of property taxes and keeping those locally voted residential property taxes in the local communities. A transition phase of several years would be built into the solution. CONTACT Lynn Hulsey by e-mail at lynn_hulsey@coxohio.com or call her at 225-2485 |
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