Ohioans pay less in taxes per capita than most other states

(The Center Square) – April 15 typically is tax day across the country, but the past year has been anything but typical.

While states and the federal government have pushed back the traditional tax filing deadline by a month because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a nonpartisan tax policy group believed it still was the right time to examine tax collections across the country. That inspection showed Ohioans fare well compared with the rest of the country.

The Tax Foundation combined state and local tax collections to show which states have the highest tax collections per capita and which have the lowest. Ohio ranked 28th highest overall, putting it below average with a per capita tax collection of $4,640.

That number could fall next year if House and Senate Republicans manage to pass their recently introduced two-year budget plan, which includes a 2% personal income tax cut.

Republicans said the tax cut would reduce taxes by $380 million over the next two years. The plan also reinstates the sales tax exemption for investment metal bullion and investment coins.

Hearings on the budget began this week in the House and Senate, and state law requires lawmakers to pass a balanced budget and have it signed by Gov. Mike DeWine before July 1.

“The state’s budget is one of the most complex and important pieces of legislation we will consider throughout this General Assembly,” Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said. “I trust the Senate will work diligently, efficiently and transparently to provide our great state with an operating budget that is both balanced and fiscally responsible, keeping the hard-working taxpayers of this state in mind with each decision made.”

Ohio ranked higher than all but one of its neighbors in the Tax Foundation study. Only Pennsylvania’s per capita tax number of $5,466 outpaced Ohio, ranking it 16th highest. Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky and West Virginia all ranked better than the Buckeye State.

People who live in the District of Columbia pay the most per capita in the country. New Yorkers pay more than anyone in any other state, followed by Connecticut, North Dakota, New Jersey and Hawaii.

The states where people pay the least per capita were Arizona, Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee.

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