How much have Republican tax cuts really saved Ohioans in the last decade?
Depending on who you ask, stateincome tax cuts are either a giveaway to the rich at the expense of public services or a way to put more money in people's pockets while boosting the economy. In other words, Republicans and Democrats don't agree on whether across the board income tax cuts  like the ones proposed in both the Ohio House and Senate budgets  help the average Ohioan. And they both have their own set of numbers to back them up. Democrats point to an analysis by Policy Matters Ohio, a liberal-leaning think tank, that shows people earning $32,000 a year getting just $4 off their state income taxes  barely enough to cover the cost of a venti coffee at Starbucks. Republicans point to how they expanded other tax credits and eliminated low-income brackets  raising the amount people have to earn before they owe a penny to the state. A 100% tax cut  Ohio had nine tax brackets back in 2011. The bottom four were eliminated and now the state has five. "That was a 100% tax cut for the working poor," former Republican Senate President Larry Obhof said. And it's the reason those Ohioans won't get money back from the proposed income tax cut in the Senate budget. A single person earning $22,000 in 2011 paid $337 in state income taxes, according to figures provided by Senate Republicans. They pay nothing now. A family of three earning $50,000 would get a $57 savings. "It's a movie, not a photograph," Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, said. "If you look at our budget as a photograph, then yeah, maybe it doesnt look that great. But incrementally it adds up." Here's what he means. That family paid $1,012 to Ohio in 2011. They paid $780 in 2020, and the Senate plan would drop them down to $723. That's a 29% reduction in their state income taxes over the last decade. A family of four earning $100,000 would get a 25% reduction, dropping from $3,066 in 2011 to $2,294 under the proposed plan. "Its hard to get people to think long term," Dolan said. "But this budget is part of a long-term plan for Republicans in Ohio to get our income taxes as competitive and low as we can." An overall increase  State income taxes are one part of the overall picture, according to groups like Policy Matters Ohio. Sales taxes, gas taxes, cigarette taxes, property taxes and other liabilities all contribute to a person's overall bill. And since 2005, Policy Matters says that the top 1% of Ohioans (those earning about $1.27 million) have seen their taxes drop by more than $40,000 while those in the bottom 20% increased by $122. "They are trying to act as if the income tax is the only tax," said Zach Schiller, the research director for Policy Matters Ohio. "Thats not providing context. That's painting a misleading picture." If Republicans wanted to help Ohio's lowest income earners, they could make the earned income tax credit refundable, Schiller said. The EITC gets calculated based on how much people earn and how many kids they have. If the credit exceeds their total taxable income, the federal government pays it out as a refund. Ohio does not. Republicans don't support that idea. "If it was refundable, it would just be a direct payment," Dolan said. "We want you to get a tax credit for working." Schiller disagreed, saying a refundable EITC would balance the burden of other taxes like the ones for groceries and gas, which hit lower-income earners harder. "In the past, there has at least been an effort to throw a bone towards lower-income people," Schiller said. "These income tax cuts do nothing for the poorest Ohioans." Money for roads and schools  The bigger question for Democrats and think tanks like Policy Matters Ohio is whether income tax cuts would be better spent on state services. The Senate plan would cut $874 million from Ohio's budget. That's money Senate Minority Leader Kenny Yuko, D-Richmond Heights, would rather see spent funding public schools, repairing roads, fixing lead pipes and increasing internet access in underserved communities. "Making our middle class stronger is crucial for a robust economic recovery. However, the majoritys proposed tax cuts will not achieve that goal," Yuko said in a statement. "For almost 20 years, the General Assembly has prioritized income tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthy, instead of policies that support workers and families." Anna Staver 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.