Business Tax Deduction on Table in State Budget Negotiation

COLUMBUS, Ohio – With the Ohio Senate approving its version of the two-year state budget, the two wings of the state legislature will spend the coming weeks negotiating a final version to send to Gov. Mike DeWine.

Among the topics debated will be a tax deduction for businesses. In the House bill, the deduction was to make the first $100,000 of a business’ income tax-free, while the Senate raised the amount to $250,000.

The $69 billion budget bill was passed by the Ohio Senate Thursday. Ohio House and Senate members will negotiate a final version of the bill before the mandated June 30 deadline.

Included in the bill is $10 million over two years for the Local Government Fund and $1.2 million for the Eastern Ohio Military Affairs Council.

It also calls for $3 million in water and sewage system improvements in Trumbull and Ashtabula counties, $1.5 million for the removal of head dams in the Mahoning River and $500,000 for a feasibility study and implementation plan for the Mahoning River Trail initiative.

“This bipartisan budget bill includes many important economic and social opportunities for all Ohioans, as well as initiatives and funding that benefit people in the Valley,” said state Sen. Sean O’Brien, D-32 Bazetta, in a statement. “I am looking forward to the conference committee process, and working with my House counterparts to ensure that the final version of the budget is even better than what we passed in the Senate today.”

O’Brien serves on the Ohio Senate finance committee.

The funding bill also includes language to establish the ResultsOhio fund, said state treasurer Robert Sprague. The program “is committed to tackling Ohio’s most pressing public policy issues by pursuing investments and solutions driven by private sector ingenuity,” according to the treasurer’s office website.

“With crises like addiction, infant mortality and others plaguing our state, now is the time to focus on producing results for the people of Ohio,” Sprague said in a statement. “No only will ResultsOhio help produce better outcomes for Ohioans, it will ensure state resources are directed to programs that actually work.”

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.