Local Ohio income tax question

[Crew Chief]

Originally Posted by South Range Family

We only have one school district as a buffer between us and the Youngstown City Schools. Youngstown is an academic, and financial failure. Their answer to city school problems is to regionalize, and steal money from the entire surrounding area. They must get their ideas from the Mayor of Youngstown. He sees the entire County as his personal cash cow that is only in existence to finance the city. Someday he will figure out that there is a reason most of us live outside of the city limits, and that those limits were put in place for a reason.

Guess it's the same everywhere, South Range Family...sigh. We just had our first school levy failure in a LONG time this past November. I think the school board was perhaps a little too confident on community support and didn't state their case well enough. I also think the previous county-wide levies that mostly benefitted Dayton were also another reason. (I think Township taxpayers felt overwhelmed by yet ANOTHER levy...) Youngstown sounds like the typical big-city government thinking; waste money on social and other programs that don't work and have those in the suburbs who DO work make up the difference. Now, I dream of one day living in a condo in downtown Dayton or even Cincinnati. But a WHOLE lot would have to change before I do that...

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by NewToCA

OK, since you are a CPA this state comparison data from 2006 should be of interest to you too.

It shows that per capita, Ohio and local governments collected $3,773 per capita, while Illinois collected $4,081. Though Ohio citizens pay more in income taxes, Illinois citizens more than offset this through higher property tax payments:

And do realize that you have some control over the property taxes you pay. You can purchase a smaller property and you can choose municipalities where you are going to live.

The two property tax payments which I pay in McHenry Co., IL are nearly identical to those paid in Cuyahoga Co.

The difference in per capita tax payments can also be attributed to a very substantial difference in the value of real estate between the two states.

Personally, assuming that your statistics are accurate, most two income families would pay an additional $300 per capita in property taxes for a 4-7% reduction in income tax rates.

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by Donna7

A few years ago, our school district (taxpayers) voted for a school income tax levy. This was supposed to replace the property tax levy once it ran out the following year. Well, guess what? Our County just increased our property taxes because they reappraised our property and raised our property value.

I hear what you're saying -- the tax value of my house in Cincinnati doubled in seven years because Hamilton County finally began reappraising properties on a regular schedule --but the school income tax levy and the county's reappraisal are apples and oranges. Think of how much you'd have been paying if the school property tax levy hadn't expired.

I'm wondering how religiously counties are going to reappraise now that home values have been falling ...

[LewLew]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

I hear what you're saying -- the tax value of my house in Cincinnati doubled in seven years because Hamilton County finally began reappraising properties on a regular schedule --but the school income tax levy and the county's reappraisal are apples and oranges. Think of how much you'd have been paying if the school property tax levy hadn't expired.

I'm wondering how religiously counties are going to reappraise now that home values have been falling ...

I was told by our realtor that you have to push that button and continue pushing it for reappraisal. The counties seem to not just go out and reappraise, but a homeowner has to press the issue and make sure they get a reduction in value. The realtor (Cuyahoga County Realtor) stated that many homes taxes are highly inflated for the actual value of the home. I'm noticing that some of the homes tax value is more than their current selling price. We had the same thing happen here in FL. My home's tax value was 479K but I paid 275K for the house. I called the city, and they came out and reappraised. It is now 295K tax value, which shows how much they are walking the fine line. My tax value shouldn't be more than my purchase price when I didn't buy a foreclosure or short sale. We as homeowners just have to be on top of them, as they'll always take what they can from wherever they can get it. LOL

[CortlandGirl79]

I believe they do property reassessments every five years in Trumbull County.

[Clevelander17]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

When my company asked me to relocate to Chicagoland, I e-mailed the Illinois CPA Society to ask about Illinois state and local taxes. I received a one-line response, "Illinois has a 3% income tax rate." So I e-mailed back, "What about local income tax?" None. We saved $6k the first year in local taxes. (By the way, the local sales tax rate was the same as Cuyahoga County and the property taxes here were $25 more than my place in Lakewood.)

I don't know enough about Illinois' tax structure so explain to me how, if not through income taxes, local governments get their funding? In a lot of ways, Illinois is similar in character to Ohio. I have a very hard time believing that the total taxes paid (one way or another) would be much more favorable in Illinois than in Ohio. It's not like the people running Illinois and its big cities are fiscal stalwarts when it comes to providing services.

Just my opinion, though. I understand how certain states are able to get away with certain tax "gimmicks," but I just don't see Illinois as being one of those states.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by Clevelander17

I don't know enough about Illinois' tax structure so explain to me how, if not through income taxes, local governments get their funding? In a lot of ways, Illinois is similar in character to Ohio. I have a very hard time believing that the total taxes paid (one way or another) would be much more favorable in Illinois than in Ohio. It's not like the people running Illinois and its big cities are fiscal stalwarts when it comes to providing services.

Just my opinion, though. I understand how certain states are able to get away with certain tax "gimmicks," but I just don't see Illinois as being one of those states.

Higher corporate tax rates in Illinois in many communities.