A new report, Taxing Beyond Borders: Principles for Ohio’s Tax Policy After South Dakota v. Wayfair, released by the Economic Research Center at The Buckeye Institute and the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, looks at the impact the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair has had on tax policy in Ohio and how lawmakers can craft a simple, easy-to-use e-commerce tax policy that doesn’t harm the state’s economy.

The Buckeye Institute released new research by its Economic Research Center that looked at the impact eliminating Ohio’s commercial activities tax (CAT) would have on Ohio’s businesses and its rankings in national economic indexes. In Letting the CAT Out of the Bag: How to Improve Ohio’s Economy and National Rankings, Buckeye researchers found that by repealing the CAT, Ohio would move up 42 spots to first place in the Tax Foundation’s State Business Tax Climate Index—making Ohio more attractive to relocating businesses.

Andrew J. Kidd, Ph.D., an economist with The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center, commented on newly released employment data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, saying, “The March jobs report marks the initial impacts COVID-19 has had on Ohio’s economy. With an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent and private sector job losses of 36,300, these figures will only get worse in the coming months.”

Andrew J. Kidd, Ph.D., an economist with The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center, commented on newly released employment data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, saying, “February’s jobs report now serves as a baseline to mark where Ohio’s economy stood before the onset of this crisis and where we hope to return following the social and economic upheaval caused by the coronavirus.”

In Policy Solutions for the Pandemic: How Ohio Can Fight the Impact of Coronavirus, The Buckeye Institute, outlines immediate actions Ohio policymakers can take to ensure Ohio is ready to fight and recover from the pandemic. The recommendations focus on policies to boost Ohio’s health care system and support Ohio’s workers, small businesses, and the economy.

Andrew J. Kidd, Ph.D., an economist with The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center, commented on newly released employment data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, saying, “Ohio’s consistent, albeit slow, job growth tells us that policymakers need to focus on adopting deeper economic reforms and pro-growth policies that have been outlined by The Buckeye Institute…to encourage private-sector job growth and attract workers to Ohio.”

On the Caffeinated Thoughts blog, Buckeye’s Andrew Kidd and TEF-Iowa’s John Hendrickson look how tax reform in Iowa can lead to relief for taxpayers and economic growth for the state. Kidd and Hendrickson write, “The Invest in Iowa Act takes a solid stride on a better path forward, but it is not the final word on tax reform…Even lower income tax rates and fewer special interest carve-outs and credits, for example, would help Iowa get off the ‘least tax-friendly states in the nation’ list.”

Andrew J. Kidd, Ph.D., economist with The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center, testified Wednesday before the Ohio Senate General Government and Agency Review Committee on the policies in Senate Bill 246. Those policies would make it easier for people with licenses in other states to live out their dreams in Ohio and would fuel the economic growth the state desperately needs. 

Andrew J. Kidd, Ph.D., economist with The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center, testified Tuesday before the Ohio House Ways and Means Committee on the policies in House Bill 255, which would increase transparency of local tax expenditures. Kidd testified that the significance of the policies in House Bill 255 are that they “shine a light on the true costs of local tax expenditures and contribute to Ohio’s ongoing conversation about how to make our state and local tax codes fairer, and our residents more prosperous.”

Andrew J. Kidd, Ph.D., an economist with The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center, commented on newly released employment data from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, saying, “Ohio ended 2019 with 10,400 new private-sector jobs, and the state’s unemployment rate held at near record lows at 4.2 percent. The year also ended with two consecutive months of above-average job growth for the decade, marking a positive trend for Ohio’s job market and one to watch throughout 2020.”