Cutting Ohio's Tax Burden and Growing the State's GDP Toward a Trillion Dollars

When the Ohio General Assembly approved the first state income tax in 1971 a couple things happened, most of them bad.

Yes, the state budget grew with more revenue from the paychecks of hard working Ohioans.

And over the years, so did the number of income tax brackets.

Arguably, that hurt Ohio more than the additional tax revenue was worth.

Not only did people lose more of their own money to the state, but the state also lost congressional seats.

Companies moved away, and so did the rate of population growth, as people moved to lower tax states or to states that don't have an income tax, all while government grew the tax rates but not the tax base.

A decade ago, there were nine state income tax brackets, but because of the discipline and diligence of today's Republican majority in the Senate and General Assembly, there are now only two state income tax brackets.

Today, people are moving back to the midwest from high tax blue states like California and New York. Ohio is climbing back into contention as an affordable place to live, work, and raise a family. U-Haul, which knows a few things about moving, released its study of growth states, and found that Ohio improved to the 14th most moved into state in 2024.

Senator George Lang who founded the General Assembly's Business Caucus joins The President's Podcast this week to talk about his bill that would move Ohio to a flat tax. Learn what he believes that would do for the state.

He also has sponsored a property tax reform bill, and highlights what he thinks needs to happen to make the system more affordable and fair.