Columbus, OH – Today, The Buckeye Institute released its latest policy brief, Building a Better Future: An Analysis of Ohio’s Tax and Spending Policies, which looks at the tax and spending policies Governor John Kasich and the Ohio General Assembly have adopted since 2013 and their impact on Ohio’s economic growth.

Using the macroeconomic dynamic scoring model, developed by economists at Buckeye’s Economic Research Center, the analysis found that Ohio’s tax and spending policies have helped:

• Make Ohio families wealthier;
• Created nearly 7,000 more jobs;
• Raised personal income by $500 million; and
• Saw Ohio’s employment rates and economy outperform most of its regional competitors.

“Contrary to the arguments levied by opponents of tax reform, this analysis shows that the tax reforms implemented by Governor Kasich and the General Assembly have led to economic growth in Ohio,” said Rea S. Hederman Jr., executive vice president at The Buckeye Institute and the head of Buckeye’s Economic Research Center. “As they continue to study Ohio’s tax policies, this analysis can serve as a guide to the 2020 Tax Commission, showing that instead of the failed policy of attempting to tax and spend Ohio to prosperity, further tax reform would keep the state on the path to greater economic growth.”

Buckeye’s analysis comes on the heels a long-awaited report from the Ohio 2020 Tax Commission. The commission was expected to offer guidance on where Ohio tax policy should go next. Unfortunately, the conclusions were limited and essentially called for additional study of Ohio’s voluminous list of tax expenditures that result in a loss of more than $9 billion in state revenues each fiscal year.

Hederman continued, “As Buckeye’s analysis makes clear, greater spending restraint and further tax reductions is the smart path for Ohio policymakers to take as they continue to reform the state’s tax and spending policies.”

Building a Better Future: An Analysis of Ohio’s Tax and Spending Policies was authored by Dr. Orphe Pierre Divounguy, former economist with The Buckeye Institute’s Economic Research Center, and Bryce Hill, a former economic research assistant with the Economic Research Center.

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