Ohio’s property tax rebellion: a symptom of deeper voter anger

Cleveland.com ^ | 5/16/25 | Story by Today in Ohio, cleveland.com

[EBH]

A radical proposal to eliminate all property taxes in Ohio is gaining momentum, and it’s revealing something profound about the state’s political climate: Ohioans are furious with their government.

In a recent episode of Today in Ohio, the daily news podcast from cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, the hosts dissected this controversial ballot initiative and the public reaction it’s generating.

“Citizens for Property Tax Reform can now start collecting 413,000 signatures for a ballot issue that would eliminate property taxes in the state of Ohio,” said Lisa Garvin. The Ohio Ballot Board unanimously agreed it was a single-subject issue, clearing the way for signature collection.

“This a terrible idea,’ said Chris Quinn, “but it is the symptom of where we stand in Ohio that there’s a revolt going on. It’s what I say. Pitchforks and torches.”

The measure would eliminate approximately $20 billion in annual revenue that primarily funds schools and local governments. Critics, including podcast host Leila Atassi, warn this would be devastating. Atassi’s column titled “Don’t Sign That Petition” generated significant reader response, staying atop cleveland.com’s charts for days.

“It was a real mixed bag of response because, you know, I did get a lot of that anger, which I completely expected and completely sympathize with about how overly burdened we are with taxes,” Atassi explained. “But then on the other hand, there were some people who had some thoughtful responses about what the state should be doing to fix this problem.”

[EBH]

Thanks to the spike in inflation and the resulting housing bubble, property taxes across the country are now rising so fast that they have effectively become a tax on unrealized capital gains. People are now losing their homes because of it.

https://youtu.be/25FgjRMDalQ?si=qcj31X8aIBis6F4b

Property taxes have become a rax on unrealized gains

Florida example

[trebb]

I’d wager the Governor was complicit with Springfield’s Mayor and all the Haitian enclaves - and Ohioans are waking up.....

[Lockbox]

Let’s look at what Government prioritizes for spending. The Cleveland Browns want a new stadium and proposal includes 50% governmental funding. The Browns are a private company, why does the government need to spend 1.2 billion dollars helping a private company which is worth 5.5 billion dollars build a new location for the private business. A new location for the owner of the Browns estimated to be worth three billion dollars.

This is just another example of the waste of taxpayer’s money. It happens all over the country in various forms.

[SMARTY]

“...would eliminate approximately $20 billion in annual revenue that primarily funds schools...”

These creeps put a lottery in place promising it would be money for schools 🙄

[day10]

I live in SW Ohio and will sign this at my earliest opportunity.

[HamiltonJay]

Teachers Unions don’t want property tax reform…

Simply replace property taxes with additional sales or income tax.

Property taxes are the single biggest reason such fiscal disparity exists in schools at least in my state.

One school district can spend millions on new stadiums while the one next door can barely keep the lights on.

[desertsolitaire]

In Michigan it’s a hodgepodge of school funding from general fund taxes, local prop tax millage, lottery revenues, etc.

[desertsolitaire]

And a 6% state sales tax.

[Rennes Templar]

Ohio needs it’s own DOGE team to clean up the waste.

[MulberryDraw]

Two 30% increases results in a 69% increase because the numbers compound.

[Phoenix8]

Something UN-American about property tax, even strikes me as evil. In effect you can never own property just rent it from the government, get in a bad situation for a few years and the government sizes what you may have paid millions for. Just pay for schools with sales tax or how about this idea; maybe quit making schools into lavish estates with multi-million dollar sports complexes etc etc etc. Just go back to more of the 3-Rs. Kids want to know about gender studies? How to play a flute? The history of Rome? They can pick it up online now or parents can pay for higher education. Hell in my own backyard..just weeks ago. A community almost rose up in revolt. A local school named Silver Creek wanted to make a 63 MILLION dollar improvement which mostly meant a new fancy sorts complex. The people voted it down OVERWHELMINGLY as it would have raised their property tax FORTY %!!! ridiculous:

[Omnivore-Dan]

Property tax. Sales tax. State Income tax. Inheritance tax. They’re taxing our asses off. All for grifters to line their pockets.

[who knows what evil?]

Politicians are robbing us blind in East Tennessee, as well...

[mewzilla]

That’s a fine idea!

I’d like to suggest that it should apply to all 50.

DOGE every state in the union.

[fruser1]

Good luck with that. They will get their money one way or another.

The root problem is ALWAYS spending.

[bert]

You live in New Jersey

[Bonemaker]

“A modest 4 bedroom home in a respectable suburb here you pay $1000 per month for property taxes.”

Yep. Chicago exurb here...$1,000 plus/month and that’s with homestead, veteran, etc exemptions. $700 goes to “education” (ie democrat party via teachers’ union). Tax plus mortgage about $25,000/year dent in retiremet. Filthy, ignorant Chicago democrats.

[protoconservative]

In my local school district the number of students is nearly half a decade ago, with predictions of dropping another 30% because of low birth rates between 2020-2024. Spending per student including administration costs has doubled, spending per student classroom is flat. Class sizes are getting to be super small in school buildings built for 2003 peak with 15+ more years of bond payments. We have a collection of long empty (25 years) school buildings that need to be torn down and returned to use by the community.

If a new generation of oversized building comes to a vote, I will be on the rooftop screaming, you have a roof and a screen, air conditioning (it was optional for us in 1980s), and we have proven half the education can be effectively done at home.

[Omnivore-Dan]

Yes sir. The most heavily taxed state in the country. We live in a mostly rural area, no police, no sewers, no water lines, no sidewalks, just woods and fields and farms with houses here and there, so our taxes are lower than the rest of the state otherwise we couldn’t afford it.

[Bonemaker]

“Welcome to the ghetto in every community.”

Did it big time to Dubuque, Iowa.