Strickland Tax Boss Tries Jedi Mind Tricks on Ohioans

But The Force Just Isn't With Him

(Columbus)- As Ohioans prepare to shoulder the seventh largest tax burden in the nation on Thursday, Gov. Ted Strickland's tax commissioner is trying to use Jedi mind tricks to convince them their taxes are not too high.

Ohio Tax Commissioner Richard Levin recently took a cue from Star Wars icon Obi-Wan Kenobi, who famously used The Force to alter the thoughts of others, and launched a public relations campaign designed to dupe Ohioans into believing that "Ohio is not a high tax state." Unfortunately, neither The Force, nor the facts, are with Levin.

THE TRICK: 
In an effort to put lipstick on the pig of Ted Strickland's 2009 $850 million income tax hike on Ohio's families and small businesses, Levin intentionally twisted data from the U.S. Census Bureau in order to claim, "Ohio is not a high tax state." [News Release, Ohio Department of Taxation 3/31/2010]

THE TRUTH: 
Levin converts the Census Bureau's data to "per capita" figures, despite the fact that right there in black-and-white on page 3 of the Census Bureau's report it warns against doing that, saying: "Analysis using total tax or per capita tax as a measure of tax burden on the citizens of a particular state can be misleading and misinterpreted." [Census Report, Page 3, Note to Data Users]

THE TRICK:
Levin regularly ignores local taxes when calculating Ohio's tax burden, as though taxes and levies demanded by counties, cities, school districts and townships don't exist.

THE TRUTH:
Local taxes account for almost HALF of all taxes paid by Ohioans. Ignoring them amounts to a deliberate attempt to mislead.  Ohio's total tax burden places it 7th highest in the nation in the amount of taxes paid as a percentage of income, and 18th in the nation on a per capita basis. [Source: Tax Foundation]

"Apparently, it's standard operating procedure in the Strickland administration to
twist and distort financial numbers," said Ohio Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine.  "This is exactly the same kind of fuzzy math that got us into the fiscal mess we're in, and now they're using it again to make Ohioans think the governor's billion-dollar tax hike
isn't so bad after all.  Ted Strickland knows Ohio families and small business are paying nearly a billion dollars more in taxes this year because he broke his promise not to raise their taxes, and his clever attempts at spin this week won't change that."

How Tax Commissioner Richard Levin Sees It:

"The tax changes Ohio has made have dramatically reshaped and improved our state's business tax climate. As the national economy begins to recover, I'm confident that Ohio is in a better position to compete for investments that create jobs." [Richard Levin, op-ed, Toledo Blade, 4/11/10]

How the Experts See It:

• Chief Executive Magazine:  In its 2009 report, CEOs from around the nation ranked Ohio as the 45th best state for business, down 11 spots from 2008 - falling further in the ranking than any other state.  The report also shows that 41 states have friendlier business environments, and 39 have states better economies.

• American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC):  Last week, ALEC released its annual "Rich States, Poor States" economic competitiveness comparison of the fifty states.  ALEC ranked Ohio 49th in our economic performance, and 42nd in our economic outlook.

• National Tax Foundation report:  "The reality is that all reliable evidence tells Ohioans that they're more heavily taxed at the state-local level than the residents of most states. In 2008, their state and local tax burden was 18th highest on a per capita basis and 7th as a percentage of income. The state ranks very poorly on our State Business Tax Climate Index. Levin and his supporters may want to believe that Ohio is America's best kept secret for low taxes, but it ain't so."