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Ohio House Passes Controversial Tax Bill

Natee Meepian, Shutterstock.com

Last year, Ohio lawmakers passed a law allowing municipalities to continue to collect income taxes from employees who were temporarily working from home in other communities. The Ohio House has passed a bill that would change that. 

Republican Rep. Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville) says the bill passed last year during the heart of the pandemic was a temporary fix. Edwards says some people will work remotely indefinitely, yet will pay taxes to a community where they don’t work or live. 

“This is simply not fair to the Ohio taxpayers who we represent," Edwards says.

The bill allows remote employees to apply for refunds of this year’s taxes paid to cities they don’t live in.

But cities fear they will lose millions of tax dollars needed for public services. The Ohio Mayors' Alliance says it hopes some of those concerns can be addresses as the Ohio Senate takes up the bill.

Copyright 2021 The Statehouse News Bureau

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment.