02/21/2007
At the Statehouse
House speaker signals desire to cut Ohio death tax
In a move long sought by NFIB, Ohio House Speaker Jon Husted (Kettering) announced that the reduction or complete elimination would be a priority of the Ohio House this General Assembly. Ohio is one of only a few states with a stand-alone estate tax.
The estate or "death" tax is levied when the assets of an estate are transferred. For small-business owners, this means a massive tax penalty when transferring a business from one generation to the next. Though often characterized as a "tax cut for the rich," Ohio's estate tax threshold is low enough ($338,333) to capture many small and medium-sized business. Rates start at a flat fee of $13,900 plus 6 percent and work up to $23,600 plus 7 percent. The tax generates approximately $315 million a year with 20 percent of the revenue going to the state and 80 percent of the revenue going to local government.
The death tax creates a disincentive to expand a business, create jobs, and far too often, literally taxes family businesses right out of the family. It is important to note that much of the cost of the death tax occurs before the tax itself is levied. The threat of the tax actually forces small-business owners to pay for expensive estate planning if they want to keep their business in the family.
While details and bill numbers have yet to be determined, NFIB will be working hard to make sure that Ohio provides much-needed tax relief to small employers.
Former congressman appointed to fill vacant Senate seat
Former U.S. Rep. Tom Sawyer was selected by the Senate Democrat Caucus to fill the seat being vacated by Sen. Kim Zurz, who is taking over as the head of the Department of Commerce. The 28th Senate District includes all of Portage and part of Summit County.
Sawyer previously taught school in the Cleveland public district, served several terms in the U.S. House, was elected mayor of Akron, and most recently served on the State Board of Education.
Ohio Area Action Council meetings to focus on new minimum wage/record keeping laws and smoking ban requirements
All dates, times and locations set
The first quarter round of the Ohio Area Action Councils will focus on recent changes to Ohio's Constitution and state law regarding the new minimum wage record keeping laws, as well as the new statewide smoking ban. Lawyers from one of Ohio's top law firms, Bricker & Eckler, LLP will provide a detailed presentation outlining the new provisions and how employers can stay on the right side of the law.
For more information, or to register for a meeting in your area, please contact Andy Patterson at (614) 221-4107. You can also register online for the event nearest you. This round of meetings is made possible by the sponsorship of AT&T.
Ohio EPA to host conference for small-business owners
Owners of small to medium-sized businesses who need to know the basics about environmental compliance can register now for Ohio EPA's "Compliance Assistance Conference: Successfully Navigating Permits, Reporting and Inspections." The conference will be held at the Columbus Marriott on March 22, 2007.
The event will cover a number of environmental regulatory and permitting topics including:
- risk management planning
- toxic release reporting
- air permitting basics and reporting
- preparing for an Ohio EPA inspection
- hazardous waste requirements and reporting overview
- used oil and spill prevention and control requirements
- reporting when things go wrong
- solid waste basics
- wastewater pretreatment and discharge permitting reporting basics
- pollution prevention and compliance assistance resources
- storm water permitting.
This year's conference will include a demonstration of some of the Agency's new Web-based tools, such as the Permit Wizard, Answer Place and online publications catalog. In addition, staff from each program area will be available to answer questions throughout the day and during an informal "Ask the Experts" session over the lunch hour.
Additional information, including the agenda and registration instructions, is available on the conference Web site.
Analysis of school funding amendment -- big money for taxpayers
The non-partisan Legislative Service Commission charged with providing technical research and fiscal services to the General Assembly recently finished an initial cost analysis of the proposed constitutional amendment for school funding.
The initial cost projections of the amendment include a $1.8 billion price tag for fiscal year 2007. With a projected $1.2 billion shortfall for the next state budget, options are few for where to generate that kind of revenue.
Should the issue make it to the 2007 November ballot and pass, the General Assembly would be charged with devising the funding scheme to generate the additional $1.8 billion going forward. At this point, both legislative leadership and Gov. Ted Strickland have been cool to the idea.
NFIB will continue to monitor this issue and provide periodic updates as things happen.
Your NFIB/Ohio staff
- Executive Director Roger Geiger
- State Director Ty Pine
- Assistant State Director Kyle Jackson
- Member Benefits Chad Wilson
- Member Support Manager Andy Patterson
- Communications Mandy Minick
- Administrative Assistant Amanda Paisley
