Saturday Stats
Posted January 14, 2023 in eNews
Numeric news from Policy Matters Ohio
4: This month we released our four-pronged proactive tax agenda, co-authored by Guillermo Bervejillo, PhD., and Zach Schiller. Our plan will help reduce racial and income inequality while providing our communities with the funding we need to educate our kids, care for our seniors and much more. We propose:
- Restoring the personal income tax to 7.5% on income above $250,000 and boosting it to 8.99% on income above $1 million — a move that would provide $2.7 billion a year.
- Reinstating Ohio’s corporate income tax at 8.5%, which corporations would pay if it were higher than their existing commercial activity tax. This policy could raise about $1 billion a year.
- Closing the LLC loophole — which allows certain business owners to avoid paying taxes on their first $250,000 of income and to pay a low flat tax rate on income above that. This tax break costs Ohio about $1 billion a year.
- Giving a needed boost to low- and middle-income Ohioans. The agenda would make the state earned income tax credit refundable, so the people with the lowest incomes benefit from it. It would create a state thriving families tax credit of $700 per child under the age of 18 for households with incomes below $65,000, phasing out for families who make between $65,000 and $85,000 annually. Together, these credits would cost about $1.1 billion a year.
$5.5 million: That’s how much money Cleveland City Council could set aside for Participatory Budgeting Cleveland (PB CLE), now that Mayor Justin Bibb has proposed legislation to do so. If council approves, Cleveland residents will have a direct say over how to spend the money, which comes from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Policy Matters staffers Daniel Ortiz, Bree Easterling and Ben Stein were on hand for the rally ahead of the council meeting, and Ben delivered a public comment about why participatory budgeting would improve civic engagement in Cleveland.
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1.5%: That’s the very small percentage of Americans who move from one state to another in a given year. When they do, it’s usually for job opportunities, to be near family or for a change in weather. It almost never because of taxes, says Michael Mazerov of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
223,000: That’s how many jobs the U.S. added, mostly in the private sector. Meanwhile wage growth slowed, and the Economic Policy Institute says that proves the Federal Reserve Bank should stop raising interest rates and policymakers should turn to restoring the 452,000 public sector jobs lost since February 2020.
18: Miami University of Ohio honored our Tanisha Pruitt, Ph.D. by naming her one of their 18 of the Last 9 Award winners. Named in honor of 1809, the year of Miami’s founding, the award honors alumni who live out the university’s values.
FYI:
If you’re in the Cleveland area and worried that you or someone you care about might have had their wages stolen by a shady employer, check out the Northeast Ohio Worker Center’s FREE wage theft clinic on Saturday, January 14, 12 to 3 p.m. Email workercenterneo@gmail.com with any questions.
The Ohio Workforce Coalition has been selected to lead an Aspen Institute Workforce Leadership Academy in Ohio and is seeking a fellow. Click here to learn more.