Rep. Beth Lear, R-Galena, and Rep. Scott Wiggam, R-Wooster sponsored a constitutional amendment to limit property tax increases to 4% annually
Some Ohio lawmakers want a constitutional amendment to limit property tax increases.
A proposed constitutional amendment, sponsored by Rep. Beth Lear, R-Galena, and Rep. Scott Wiggam, R-Wooster, would limit property tax increases to 4% annually.
Wiggam said he wants to ensure property tax increases don’t hit homeowners as hard after the historic increases in Ohio property values for 2023.
“Our property tax system is a broken system in the state of Ohio and property taxpayers must be protected,” he said.
The amendment would limit property tax increases to the prior year’s inflation rate or 4%, whichever is lower, using 2023 property tax payments as the base rate.
According to the resolution’s request for cosponsors, for example, if a house with an appraised valuation of $400,000 in tax year 2025 had a property tax payment of $4,000 in 2023, the tax payment could not be more than $4,160 under the amendment. That would be the 2023 tax payment of $4,000 added to 4% of $4,000 – $160.
Wiggam said he and Lear wanted to introduce the amendment to start a conversation about whether property should be the baseline for services people are taxed for at the local level, like public schools and libraries.
“One of the problems that the state of Ohio has is that we have so many different local public entities that can go after your taxes,” he said.
Wiggam said he objects to the idea that there is a lack of money for local entities.
“You give me nearly any local public entity, and I’ll show you that it’s increased faster than inflation in their revenues,” he said.
Erin Glynn is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.