Kasich plan just shifts Ohio tax burden around, economists say

By   /  February 14, 2013  /  Energy, Featured, News, Ohio, Ohio Government, Ohio Governor, Ohio House of Represenatives, Ohio Legistlature, Ohio Senate, Politics, State Government  /  3 Comments

THE PLAN: Kasich is proposing to extend the sales tax to 81 service industries, while cutting the rate from 5.5 percent to 5 percent. He also wants to impose a severance tax on oil and gas production, and use it to pay for an income tax cut.

 
By Jon Cassidy | Watchdog.org
Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s plan to impose new taxes on services and oil and gas production would weigh heavily on the poor, while opening the door to more cronyism, according to several free market economists interviewed by Ohio Watchdog.
Despite shifting tax burdens around, Kasich’s budget does nothing to reduce the size [...]

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OH: Few severance taxes are lucrative

By   /  August 31, 2012  /  Business, Economy, Energy, Environment, Ohio, Ohio Government, Ohio Governor, Ohio House of Represenatives, Ohio Legistlature, Ohio Senate  /  4 Comments

Gov. John Kasich wants to use a severance tax to fund an income tax cut.

By Jon Cassidy | Ohio Watchdog
COLUMBUS — Gov. John Kasich says that a severance tax on oil and gas production could raise up to $1 billion by 2016, and that the money could be used to fund an across-the-board income tax cut.
A review of severance tax revenues in all 50 states suggests they’re not quite so lucrative. [...]

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OH: Well production far below Kasich’s estimates

By   /  August 24, 2012  /  Energy, Environmental, Featured, Finances, News, Ohio, Ohio Government, Ohio Governor, Ohio House of Represenatives, Ohio Legistlature, Ohio Senate, Politics & Elections  /  No Comments

Gov. John Kasich

By Jon Cassidy | Ohio Watchdog
COLUMBUS — The actual early production figures from new oil and gas wells in eastern Ohio are much lower than the predictions Gov. John Kasich has been using to his sell his severance tax plan.
The companies operating 10 new wells disclosed the figures earlier this month. The average production rate at [...]

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OH: School worker health care fund almost out of money

By   /  August 8, 2012  /  Featured, Local Government, Ohio, Ohio Government, Ohio House of Represenatives, Ohio Legistlature, Ohio Senate, Pensions, Pensions, Taxes, Uncategorized  /  No Comments

The fund that pays for health care for bus drivers and other school support personnel is almost out of money.

By Jon Cassidy | Ohio Watchdog
COLUMBUS — Health-care funding for retired school employees will be eliminated by 2016, according to a new projection.
Under the scenario, the health-care fund would run dry by 2019, according to a report to the Ohio Retirement Study Council, presented last month by three independent actuaries.
The actuaries’ rosier projection is that the fund won’t [...]

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OH: Local costs for police and fire pension debts may quintuple

By   /  August 6, 2012  /  Featured, Finances, Legislature, Local Government, Ohio, Ohio Government, Ohio Governor, Ohio House of Represenatives, Ohio Legistlature, Ohio Senate, Pensions, State Politics, State Senate, Taxes, Uncategorized  /  No Comments

Public safety pension fund officials are resisting calls to raise retirement age.

By Jon Cassidy | Ohio Watchdog
COLUMBUS — Local governments statewide would need to increase their pension contributions for police and firefighters by more than 50 percent if they ever hope to pay off $7.3 billion in debts that threaten the solvency of the public safety retirement system.
The amount they’re paying toward those debts would need [...]

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