The Ohio Senate has begun considering a revised budget proposal, which includes a flat 2.75% income tax and $600 million for a new Cleveland Browns football stadium.
The Senate’s spending plan, an amended version of House Bill 96, includes General Revenue Fund appropriations of roughly $89.7 billion for the biennium, a reduction of nearly $1.8 billion compared to the House-passed plan. In total, the budget is $201 billion for the two years.
The Senate’s budget is also less than Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed executive budget request of more than $219.3 billion over the next two years, one that would continue to balloon the state’s spending.
Under the plan, the Buckeye State’s top bracket will drop to 3.125% from 3.5% in tax year 2025. A 2.75% flat tax will take effect for the 2026 tax year.
“There are 14 states that have a flat tax,” Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, said in a release. “This budget maintains our commitment of reducing the tax burden on Ohioans over the last several General Assemblies.”
Under the Senate’s budget, Ohioans earning up to $26,050 will not pay income tax.
“This is good news for hard working Ohioans just entering or returning to the workforce,” Senate Finance Chairman Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, said in a release. “Reducing the tax burden has generated substantial returns in the form of economic development.”
The plan would also eliminate new replacement levies and new emergency levies.
“Ohioans have been asking for real tax reform, and the Senate’s budget delivers,” Americans for Prosperity–Ohio State Director Donovan O’Neil said in a statement. “Moving to a 2.75% flat income tax not only gives relief to working families today—it also builds momentum toward a future where Ohioans keep even more of what they earn.
“This marks a major step forward in our march to a 0% income tax and makes Ohio the most competitive state in the region,” O’Neil added. “We thank Senate leadership for their bold vision and for listening to the voices of taxpayers across the state.”
The Senate also kept $600 million to go toward a new $3.4 billion Cleveland Browns stadium. However, their approach differs from the House’s.
Instead of using state-backed bonds for funding, the Senate version calls for allocating $1.7 billion from $3.7 billion in unclaimed funds to establish a new “Sports and Culture Facilities Fund.” The Cleveland Browns would receive a $600 million loan in the form of a “performance grant,” WKYC-TV reported.
The loan would be “paid back” via tax revenues collected over 16 years.
“This is bypassing even a tax,” WKYC-TV quoted Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne as saying. “That’s your money. That’s your family’s money, that’s your relative’s money. This is not just robbing Peter to pay Paul, this is robbing Bob and Betty Buckeye to pay Jimmy and Dee Haslam.”
Additionally, school advocates criticized the spending plan, saying that while the Senate’s version retains more Fair School Funding Plan elements, it doesn’t adequately fund schools, raises uncertainty for districts, and makes it more difficult for school districts to pass levies.
“The Senate Leadership found $600 million for a handout to the billionaire owners of the Browns,” Ryan Wynia, Ohio Organizing Collaborative Parent leader and the parent of children attending Big Walnut Local Schools, said in a statement. “Imagine what kind of state we could have if they put the same energy into funding our public schools.
“I’ve waited long enough for our state lawmakers to keep their commitment to my children and all Ohio kids,” Wynia added. “It’s time for lawmakers to do their job. Pass the Fair School Funding Plan, with updated costs, as they promised us four years ago.”
