COLUMBUS, Ohio – Governor John Kasich is proposing the elimination of nearly all income taxes paid by small businesses to take advantage of the improving economy.
READ MORE: In The Columbus Dispatch
The Republican wants to eliminate state income taxes for one million small businesses, spurring them to create jobs, while also reducing income taxes for three million low-income and middle-class families.
And, he wants the working poor to hang onto state-subsidized child care benefits longer instead of having them completely cut off as families make more money.
Kasich’s sneak peak at some of the requests in his two-year state budget to be unveiled on Monday was embraced yesterday by those working to assist the poor.
The tax cuts for businesses and families would total nearly $1.1 billion over two years. Kasich did not say yesterday whether he would increase other taxes or cut spending to cover the loss in state revenue.
But, Scott Milburn, the governor’s communications director, told the Columbus Dispatch that Kasich would seek an increase in the cigarette tax. Advocates have suggested an increase of up to $1 a pack. Higher oil-and-gas drilling taxes and other hikes may emerge.
Small businesses with less than $2 million in annual gross receipts would pay no income taxes to encourage investment.
He is also proposing making it easier for low-income families to keep child-care subsidies as their income increases and an increase in personal income-tax exemptions would leave many of the working poor tax-free, Kasich said.
Kasich also wants county job centers to create more comprehensive programs to focus a variety of services on individuals based on their needs.