Rep. Troy's Committee on Property Tax Review and Reform Convenes for the First Time Today
COLUMBUS – State Representative Daniel Troy (D-Willowick) today announced the opening meeting of the Joint Committee on Property Tax Review and Reform. Representative Troy first proposed a House Select Committee on Property Tax Education and Reform in the 134th General Assembly. The committee’s goal is to study and report on Ohio’s property tax law including levies, exemptions, and local political subdivision budgeting, concluding with concrete recommendations on how to better Ohio’s property tax laws.
Representative Troy voiced the importance of this committee stating, “One of the most complex and least understood public policy areas in Ohio is our local property tax system. Alterations, additions, redefinitions, and challenging mathematics have certainly made it very confusing and often misunderstood subject matter. While it is critical to providing much of the revenue that underwrites the cost of important public services, it is the belief of many that a significant comprehensive and educational review of the system is overdue.”
In this joint committee Representative Troy is joined by four other colleagues from the House of Representatives and five members of the Senate.
“The often indecipherable and confusing situation regarding our property tax system tends to generate mistrust and creates an adversarial relationship between the taxpayer and the service provider dependent upon that revenue stream to perform its functions. I believe the formation of this temporary committee and the information and input it can gather would be helpful in generating a better understanding and education on this complex subject. As a result of that initial informative process, it would serve to simplify, clarify, reform and modernize Ohio’s property tax system to create a better relationship between the system and the citizens that it assesses,” said Representative Troy.
The Committee on Property Tax Review and Reform was created through language drafted by Representative Troy and passed in Ohio’s biennial operating budget earlier this year. Today’s committee meeting heard testimony from the Legislative Service Commission and the Department of Taxation.
It is available to view on the Ohio Channel here.