Husted Critical of Tax Plan Analysis
Posted March 09, 2005 in Press Releases
Dayton Daily News
By William Hershey
A new analysis that concludes Gov. Bob Taft's proposed overhaul of the tax code
would benefit the wealthy and provide little or no savings to low-income Ohioans drew strong
criticism Tuesday from House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering.
According to the analysis, when major parts of the Taft plan are phased in fully, the top 1 percent
of Ohio taxpayers would have their taxes reduced by an average of $7,076 a break that amounts
to 1.1 percent of their average income, which is $643,000.
In contrast, the lowest 20 percent of taxpayers with annual incomes under $16,000 would see their annual taxes
increase by an average of $63. The second 20 percent of taxpayers would experience an average annual increase of
$68; the middle 20 percent would have an average $12 increase and the fourth 20 percent would receive an average
reduction of $89 annually, according to the analysis. The next 15 percent of taxpayers would receive an average
reduction of $379 a year and the next 4 percent an annual average reduction of $1,277, the analysis concluded.
Husted said he disagreed with the conclusion because Taft's plan "is going to help create jobs in the state."
"It's going to put more people to work. It's going to help raise salaries for everybody because we're going to combine it
with the Third Frontier program and that's going to focus on jobs for the future," he said.
The Taft plan, Husted said, would create a better business environment to "create jobs."
"That is good because there's nothing more regressive than not having a job," he said.
The analysis was released Monday by Cleveland-based research groups Policy Matters Ohio and the Center for
Community Solutions. They based the analysis on calculations made by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy,
a nonprofit, nonpartisan research group in Washington, D.C
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