June 30, 2011, Columbus, Ohio--Liberty rings in Ohio as the Ohio House, the Ohio Senate and Governor John Kasich have ended Ohio’s Estate Tax (Death Tax) effective January 1, 2013. This evening, Governor Kasich signed the budget bill that ended what as often been called the worst Estate Tax in the United States--because of the small threshold amount where the tax starts. The entire Ohio Government has sent a clear message to twelve million Ohioans that Ohio is open for business and we will not put our state economy at a competitive disadvantage with an Estate Tax that drives capital and jobs out of Ohio.
The repeal of this tax is an enormous accomplishment which would not have been possible without the efforts of many. Governor John Kasich was the first to speak out about the detriments of the Ohio Estate Tax in 2009. Speaker William Batchelder of the Ohio House held strong from day one recognizing the problems with Ohio’s Estate Tax on the Economy and the need for it to end. Senate President Tom Niehaus fought against difficult odds as many communities and townships resisted the end of this tax. The Entire Republican Party of the State of Ohio was resolute in voicing to leadership the importance of sparing thousands of future Ohio families from this unjust tax.
Core constituency groups around Ohio have stepped up over the last two years and lobbied to end the tax. Major contributing groups are The Ohio Farm Bureau, the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers, the Ohio Christian Alliance, the Ohio Manufacturer’s Association, the Ohio Funeral Director’s Association, COAST, Americans for Prosperity, The National Taxpayers Union, Americans for Tax Reform, and The American Family Business Institute, and 1851 Center for Constitutional Law.
The repeal of the tax simply would not have happened without the large grassroots support of Tea Party and Liberty groups that canvassed the entire state of Ohio in the summer of 2010 and collected 84,000+ petition signatures to bring this issue to the forefront of debate. The repeal of the tax will send one of the first important signals that the Tea Party movement and grassroots citizens will influence government and limit the growth of government in Ohio.
A Major Tax is gone! Celebrate in the success of this repeal and know we thank you all for this concrete accomplishment which would not have happened without your help .
Regards and thanks for your help!
Leadership Team:
Jack Boyle, jackboyle@endohioestatetax.com
Ron Alban, rona@endohioestatetax.com
Dan Regenold, dregenold@endohioestatetax.com
Thanks to Roger Baxter for keeping us up to date on these legislative updates. Below is the update for March:
March, 2011 Federal & State Subcommittee Report
Federal
Despite a lot of talk, and political feints from both sides, not a lot was actually accomplished during the month.
On 3/3, the house voted 314-112 to repeal the 1099 reporting requirement in Obamacare. Unfortunately, the Senate has not yet taken this up, but there does appear to be broad support there, too.
On 3/7, the entire state of Maine was granted a waiver to Obamacare. What is up with that?
On 3/9, HR1 (the budget bill) was voted down in the Senate.
On 3/15. The House passed a CR containing a $10B in savings. This went thru the Senate on 3/17, and was signed by Obama on 3/18. Please keep in mind that $10B is worth less than 3 days of borrowing, at current levels.
On 3/17, the house voted to de-fund NPR 228-192. An almost pure party line vote. Don’t expect this one to go any farther.
We are still waiting on the latest budget negotiations. The fear is that Republican leadership will cave in.
Note: On 4/2 the Republicans announced a 2012 budget that would cut spending by $4 Trillion – over ten years. The only problem here is that the level of cuts would only reduce the GROWTH of the debt, not actually reduce any of it. Depending on who you read, the 2021 debt would be between $21 and 28 Trillion, if this is all we can do. The 2012 budget needs the $4 Trillion in cuts in two years, not ten.
State
There was a lot more action at the state level.
On 3/2, the senate passed SB5, the bargaining bill, by 17/16 – a narrow margin. It took until 3/30 for the bill to be passed by the house, and the amendments to be re-approved by the senate. It was finally signed into law by Kasich on the evening of 3/31. Now, the unions are promising a November voter referendum on the bill. We need to get fired up for this!
Though there are many, some significant takeaways are as follows:
[Taxpayer-funded] state & local governments are no longer forced to facilitate the transfer of political contributions from government employees to their unions on the taxpayers watch/dime.
Written consent is now required for automatic PAC deductions (from paychecks)
The law prohibits “fair share fees” (80% of regular union dues in Ohio) as a requirement to be a non-union member w/in an employee organization
In other words, they can opt out of the union w/o being financially punished.
The Law prohibits the use of ticket-based quotas to determine performance.
Decertification petitions now require 30% vs. 50% making it somewhat easier to decertify.
Joe Uecker may be at the meeting if anyone has any specific questions.
On 3/4 the “Common Sense Initiative” was signed into law. I have a copy, if you want to look at it.
On 3/8, Kasich stated that there would be no $51.8 M in funding for the Cincinnati Streetcar. This was confirmed by Wade (Transportation) on 3/23. Unfortunately, Cincinnati is not listening. They are now looking at “Trolley Buses” instead.
On 3/15 Debe Terhar (Please someone tell me how to pronounce this name correctly.) of the Green Twp. Tea Party was elected as the new president of the State Board of Education, in a 10-9 vote.
On 3/17, State Superintendent of Schools, Deborah Delisle, was forced out, effective 4/30. I have no idea whether this is good or a bad thing.
On 3/23, the Voter ID bill, which requires a driver’s license (or similar identification) was passed by the house 57-38. This is in keeping with bills and laws in other states that seek to overturn the instant voting that has been pushed by Acorn (and similar groups) for years.
**We forgot to report last month that the State Central Committee unanimously voted for Kevin DeWine - who organized against nearly every tea party member running in a primary - to continue as Chairman of the Ohio GOP.
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