Activists, lobbyists and other budget watchers are still tearing into Gov. John Kasich’s third two-year spending plan, trying to figure out who will be helped by it, and who it will hurt. Some Ohio Statehouse veterans have very different opinions on the budget’s overall impact.
The $5.7 billion in tax cuts and benefits in the spending plan are paid for with $5.2 billion in tax increases on oil and gas drillers, on cigarettes, on businesses through the commercial activity tax, and through a half-percent increase in the state sales tax.
Republican analyst Mike Gonidakis says shifting to consumption from income tax is the right thing.
“It gives people choice. As opposed to saying, we’re mandating that you pay an income tax, we’re going to say, ‘it’s a sales tax,” Gonidakis said.
But Democratic analyst Keary McCarthy says big damage is done when lower-income people need higher-cost items.
“Because I have fewer resources, it’s going to pinch a larger share of my disposable income,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy and Gonidakis agree on the proposed increases in the tobacco tax and the tax on oil and gas drillers, though they disagree on where the revenue should go.
