13-05-2025
Group looks to put amendment on ballot, eliminating Ohio property tax
(WKBN) — Last week, the Ohio Attorney General approved the language that could soon allow for a citizens' group to start collecting signatures to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot to eliminate property taxes in Ohio.
It's a bold move brought on, they say, by the state legislature's refusal to deal with property taxes.
'All through 2024, nobody wanted to touch it. Nobdoy wanted to do anything with it,' said Kyle Kutz.
Beth Blackmarr is from Lakewood and Kyle Kutz is from North Olmstead. They're part of the group called Citizens for Property Tax Reform in Ohio, which wants to place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot to eliminate property taxes.
'They want to have good city services. They want to contribute, but things got too far, went too far with this and there were no fixes on the horizon so that's when people started getting really upset,' said complaint is with the state legislature in Columbus.
'Back in 2024, the 11th hour in the month of December, there were over a dozen bills on the table for property tax relief reform. And guess how many they passed? Zero,' Kutz said.
Among the citizen group's proposals were no property taxes for people over 65; that no senior citizens should be evicted for being unable to afford their property tax; that property taxes should be determined by what someone paid for a property and not an appraisal; that a combination of income and property tax would be more equitable; and tax abatements should be regulated.
'The ball is still in the legislature's court. If they decide to do something,' Blackmarr said.
Blackmarr said New Jersey has the highest property tax rate in the nation.
'In Ohio, we're number six, we're number six.'
But in New Jersey, senior citizens can make up to $500,000 a year and get 50 percent off their property taxes.
'Now that is very generous and meaningful,' Blackmarr said.
'We're not state senators or state representatives but we're coming up with ideas. That's their job down in Columbus, these state lawmakers to come up with ideas and the solutions,' Kutz said.
Citizens for Property Tax Reform in Ohio will need 460,000 signatures from 44 different counties to get the property tax issue on the November ballot.
Blackmarr doesn't think they'll have a problem getting the signatures. She says the response so far has been overwhelming.
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