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Schaad v. Alder |
For media inquiries, please contact:
Lisa Gates, vice president of communications
(614) 224-3255 or Lisa@BuckeyeInstitute.org
Resolution to the Case
On February 14, 2024, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the state did not violate the due process clause “by directing that an Ohio citizen pay taxes to the municipality where the employee’s principal place of work was located rather than to the subdivision of the state where the employee actually worked.”
Background of the Case
Key Question in the Case: Is it constitutional for the work of employees—who were forced to work from home during Ohio’s stay-at-home order—to be deemed to have been performed in a different city than it actually was performed for the purpose of taxation?
Even before the pandemic, Josh Schaad, of Blue Ash, Ohio, worked offsite for his employer and in years past, has requested and received proportional refunds for his work performed outside the city limits of Cincinnati. When the Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 197—which deemed all work performed elsewhere because of the health emergency to have been performed at the employee's principal place of work for the purposes of levying income taxes—Mr. Schaad’s municipal income taxes increased even though he had spent less time at his main office location in Cincinnati.
The Buckeye Institute filed a lawsuit on behalf of Mr. Schaad challenging House Bill 197, Ohio’s emergency-based income tax system that absurdly deemed work he performed at his home to have been performed in the higher-taxed office location of Cincinnati for the purposes of taxation.
Facts of the Case
Current Status
Decided by the Ohio Supreme Court on February 14, 2024.
Case Number
2022-0316
Originally Filed
February 9, 2021
Original Court
Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas
Plaintiffs
Josh Schaad of Blue Ash, Ohio
Lawyers
Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer, The Buckeye Institute
David C. Tryon, director of litigation, The Buckeye Institute
Jay R. Carson, senior litigator, The Buckeye Institute
Related Cases
Buckeye v. Kilgore
Morsy v. Dumas
Curcio v. Hufford
Kresevic v. Chittok
Denison v. Kilgore
Timeline of the Case
February 14, 2024
The Ohio Supreme Court issues its ruling in Schaad v. Alder.
March 1, 2023
The Buckeye Institute presents oral arguments before the Ohio Supreme Court in Schaad v. Alder. Video of the oral arguments is available at OhioChannel.org.
January 9, 2023
The Ohio Supreme Court schedules oral arguments for March 1, 2023.
October 24, 2022
The Buckeye Institute files its reply brief responding to the city of Cincinnati’s arguments, which ignore the fact that Ohio’s emergency-based local income tax system is incompatible with the Due Process protections afforded by the U.S. and Ohio constitutions.
August 15, 2022
The Buckeye Institute files its merit brief outlining why Ohio’s emergency-based local income tax system is unconstitutional, while the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, National Federation of Independent Business, Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants, and several other groups file amicus briefs supporting Buckeye’s position.
- Merit Brief, The Buckeye Institute
- Amicus Brief, Ohio Chamber of Commerce
- Amicus Brief, National Federation of Independent Business, Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants, North Central Ohio Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association, Greater Cleveland Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association, and the Manufacturing Policy Alliance (filed August 10, 2022)
- Amicus Brief, National Taxpayers Union Foundation
- Amicus Brief, Independent Women’s Law Center
- Amicus Brief, The City of Lebanon (filed July 25, 2022)
- The Buckeye Institute’s Press Release
June 7, 2022
The Ohio Supreme Court announces it will hear Schaad v. Alder, The Buckeye Institute’s Cincinnati tax case challenging Ohio’s emergency-based income tax system that deemed work Mr. Schaad performed at his home to have been performed in the higher-taxed office location of Cincinnati for the purposes of taxation.
March 24, 2022
The Buckeye Institute files its appeal with the Ohio Supreme Court asking the court to hear the case and recognize Ohio’s emergency-based local income tax system—where the state forced people to work from home, but nonetheless deemed their work to have been performed in a higher-taxed office location—as unconstitutional.
February 7, 2022
Ohio’s First District Court of Appeals issues its ruling.
January 25, 2022
The Buckeye Institute presents oral arguments to Ohio’s First District Court of Appeals.
September 10, 2021
The Buckeye Institute files its appeal with Ohio’s First District Court of Appeals.
June 16, 2021
The Buckeye Institute filed its notice of appeal.
June 15, 2021
Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Christopher Wagner grants the city of Cincinnati’s motion to dismiss.
February 9, 2021
The Buckeye Institute files a lawsuit calling for the court to declare unconstitutional an Ohio law allowing the city of Cincinnati to tax income from workers who do not live in, and were prohibited from working within, the city’s jurisdiction during Ohio’s stay-at-home order.
