Columbus, OH – On Wednesday, The Buckeye Institute filed its appeal with Ohio’s Sixth District Court of Appeals in Curcio v. Hufford—Buckeye’s case challenging the authority of the cities of Toledo and Oregon, Ohio to tax the income of nonresidents who did not work within those cities due to the pandemic.

“Ohio law does not allow cities to take income taxes from workers based upon ‘let’s pretend’ you performed work in a different city than you actually did,” said Jay R. Carson, senior litigator for The Buckeye Institute. “The Buckeye Institute believes the Ohio Supreme Court’s directive—that cities can only tax nonresidents on work that is performed within the taxing city’s limits—has been misapplied and that Ohio’s emergency-based local income tax system is not only unfair to workers, it violates the due process requirements of the U.S. and Ohio constitutions.” 

Curcio v. Hufford was filed by The Buckeye Institute in March 2021 in the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas against the cities of Toledo and Oregon, Ohio on behalf of Joel Curcio and Summer Curcio of Maumee, and Chris Ackerman of Walbridge, Ohio. The case was dismissed on December 16, 2021, and Buckeye filed its notice of appeal on January 10, 2022.

The Buckeye Institute has filed four other cases similarly challenging House Bill 197’s unconstitutional overreach.

• Buckeye v. Kilgore was filed in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas in July 2020 and was appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court on January 14, 2022. 
• Denison v. Kilgore was filed in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas in February 2021 and settled in favor of Buckeye’s client Mr. Denison in April 2021.
• Schaad v. Alder was filed in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas in February 2021 and is awaiting appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.
• Morsy v. Dumas was filed in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas in April 2021.

The shift to telework started long before the pandemic. The Buckeye Institute has offered many sound public policy solutions to help Ohio transition to a better local income tax structure, which will save taxpayer dollars, strengthen economic growth, and lead to more vibrant cities.

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