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It is essential to support public education. Although four generations of my family are or have attended Catholic schools, I’m happy to pay my share. However, things are getting complicated in Ohio, where a progressive system topped off at 7.5% in 2004, has been reduced to 3.15% this year, and becomes a flat tax of 2.75% in 2026.
Filers of schedules C, E, F and K get a free pass on their first $250,000 of earnings. For example, a guy that owns a tax prep business making $100,000 pays no Ohio income tax, while his retired client earning the same, pays about $2,200.
Tax cuts have been paid for, in part, by cuts in spending for public schools. This has shifted costs to local school districts, who then must beg for property tax levies, and/or school district income taxes.
Additionally, Ohio now issues tuition vouchers for students in private schools. This further stresses public school budgets.
School districts in high income areas are benefiting, while those in poorer areas suffer.
Home owners are not happy, they feel the new system is regressive. School districts are having a hard time passing the levies.
I don’t know how this ends, but I know that all kids deserve the opportunity for a quality education, no matter the wealth of their home town.
Florida is wasting my taxes on charter schools run by donors to the politicians. Public schools are called that for a reason. Now they’re forcing public schools to give charter schools space for free.
Big money in charter schools. We all know what happens with big money and politicians.
I’m familiar with all of the arguments against property taxes. When I was on a condominium board owners would attend monthly meetings and some would whine and complain about this. They apparently expected someone else to pay for their benefits. Some pushed the agenda “I’m retired and on fixed income”. I published a list of where the taxes were allocated and what the percentages were.; I’d hand out copies when the subject surfaced. This didn’t end the complaints but it did reduce the amount of time the board spent as a punching bag. Apparently some owners didn’t bother to read the tax bill. Here’s the list of beneficiaries of the taxes collected:
County Pension fund
County Health Dept
Health Dept Pension fund
Forest Preserve District
Forest Preserve District Pension fund
County Airport
Township road
Township Pension fund
City
Park district
Park District Pension fund
City Mosquito District
Grade School District XX
Grade School Pension fund
High School District XX
High School Pension fund
Community College
The above I edited to remove the city and county names, township name, school district numbers and the names of the community college. My tax bill for the year I quoted was $2,789.46. I did not take the senior discount I was entitled to.
You should see what is being said on FB on this subject. The views people express are amazing. I wish I had your taxes, my new statement for rest of 25-26 is $13,905 a year and that’s a condo, not a house.