Property Tax Relief from Ohio: House Passes Bill to Combat Rising Property Taxes

The Ohio House of Representatives recently approved a bill that will protect homeowners from rising property taxes. To offer property tax relief from Ohio, the new bill specifically changes the procedures used by the Tax Commissioner to carry out property tax sales assessment ratio studies.

Ohio Homeowners Relief Act: what is it?

On Wednesday, the Ohio House of Representatives approved House Bill 187, called the Ohio Homeowners Relief Act, to offer relief to residents from rising property taxes. Thomas Hall (R-Madison Twp.) is the bill sponsor, while the bill enjoys the support of Ohio REALTORS.

In May, Hall from Butler County and Adam Bird from Clermont County first introduced the Homeowners Relief Act to combat massive property value hikes. HB187 was approved by the House Ways and Means Committee after several hearings, and on Wednesday, it passed the House by 58 to 26 votes.

The bill requires the Tax Commissioner to work with local officials, as well as consider the last three years’ property values in a county to determine the property tax.

“This common-sense bill will protect vulnerable Ohioans and provide peace of mind to those who have concerns about paying for necessities, such as groceries, as a result of property tax increases,” said Hall.

Now, the bill heads to the Ohio Senate for consideration. The bill will have to come back to the House for concurrence if any changes are made to it. Republican Sen. George Lang of West Chester Twp. expects the bill to pass through their chamber on November 15, ready for Gov. Mike DeWine to sign the next day.

Property tax relief from Ohio: how it works

Ohio’s Homeowners Relief Act is in response to historic property value hikes expected in counties due to pandemic-induced skyrocketing property values. Taxable values are estimated to rise by 29% in Greene County, 34% in Montgomery County and 37% in Butler County.

To lower this burden, the new bill mandates the use of a three-year, equally weighted average when the county auditors value property, rather than using the sales from 2022. This equally weighted average is estimated to give an average hike of 25% for Montgomery counties, 28% hike for Clermont and 22% for Greene County.

Also, the new method would lower tax revenues by $539 million to local governments and schools over three years.

Hall wanted the Ohio Homeowners Relief Act to pass with the emergency clause. Including an emergency clause would have meant that the bill would take effect immediately, rather than the 90-day effective rule, once the governor approves it. The bill, however, would have needed 66 votes to come up with an emergency clause.

Montgomery County Auditor Karl Keith is happy that the bill didn’t pass with an emergency clause as now they will get more time to make it work accurately, according to Journal-News.

Source valuewalk