‘There’s too much taxes,’ says Cliff Kerr, who owns a barber shop. / The Enquirer/Paul McKibben
Paul McKibben reports:
At Cliff’s Barber Shop in Morrow, with Fox News Channel playing in the background, Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s proposal to tax services such as haircuts isn’t popular.
“It’s ridiculous, to tell you the truth,” said owner Cliff Kerr, a Republican who voted for Kasich in 2010.
“It’s just more government; something we need less of. …
“There’s too much taxes.”
Kerr, of Blanchester, charges $13 for a haircut. He expects he’ll have to pass the tax onto his customers.
Kasich is proposing to expand Ohio’s sales tax to 81 previously untaxed services.
The proposal also cuts state income taxes by roughly $2 billion a year, which would cause a fundamental shift in how state government is funded – from the income tax to the sales tax.
After three years, the new setup would deliver an overall tax break of $1.4 billion, the administration says.
He also wants to take over counties’ rates to prevent too big of a windfall.
If the plan unveiled Tuesday is approved by the General Assembly, counties would see increased revenue for three years starting with fiscal year 2014, which begins July 1.
Counties would receive at least a 10 percent increase in revenue during the first 19 months compared with collections over the next few months.
Still, interviews Thursday with residents and government officials across Southwest Ohio indicate largely a wait-and-see-approach.
Butler County officials aren’t sure how much additional sales tax they’ll see, although the Ohio Department of Taxation pegs it at $3.2 million a year.
County Administrator Charles Young said commissioners have decided that any additional money would be spent on several issues put off for the last five years while they tightened spending because of the economy.
“There have been little to no capital expenditures,” Young said. “There has been a significant amount of deferred maintenance on our facilities.”
In addition, the county will focus on reducing its $70 million debt.
The state estimates Clermont County could gain $2.2 million a year in additional sales tax.
“Until it gets rolled out, I think it’s a little too premature to talk about what we are going to do with it,” said Sukie Scheetz, director of Clermont County’s Office of Management and Budget.
Commissioners will make that decision, and Ed Humphrey, board president, said he had not yet given the matter any thought.
Warren County would get an extra $3 million per year.
But Commissioner Dave Young said he is leery of any type of new taxation on businesses and is concerned about giving up control to the sate of something that local government historically has overseen.
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Tags: Tags: beach waterpark, budget, dave young, entertainment tax, governor, income tax, John Kasich, kings island, ohio, sales tax, taxes, warren county
