Rate-Cutting, Flattening Tax Reform Rolls On In Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas And Beyond

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

63% : The move to a 2.75% flat tax in Ohio, under HB 1, would be facilitated in part by scaling back state aid to localities.
52% : The money Ohio state government sends to local governments every year, which would end under HB 1 in order to free up revenue for state income tax relief, subsidizes lower property tax rates than what is needed to fund local government spending.
50% : While that effort attracted considerable media coverage, the more dominant theme in state capitals this year when it comes to tax policy is not widespread interest in soaking the rich, but rather a continuation of the multi-year trend of states moving to lower and flatter income tax rates, with some lawmakers and governors aiming for full income tax repeal.
49% : When lawmakers in eight blue states rolled out new proposals to raise taxes in January, Illinois Representative Will Guzzardi (D) said they did so in a coordinated fashion "to send a message that there is nowhere to hide."
47% :Ohio isn't the only state in the Midwest where legislative leadership has proposed a lower, flatter income tax.
44% : HB 1 proponents point out that the bill pays for state income tax relief by putting an end to state spending that helps local officials conceal the full cost of local government from their constituents.
43% : "It took courage for the conservative General Assembly in North Carolina to restrain spending and cut taxes," says Paige Terryberry, senior analyst for fiscal policy at the John Locke Foundation, a Raleigh-based think tank.

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