COLUMBUS — State Sen. Mark Romanchuk (R-Ontario) on Thursday praised the $88.86 billion biennium budget passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine earlier this week.
Romanchuk said he was especially pleased with $3 billion in tax relief that returns hard-earned money to Ohio taxpayers.
The senator said he also strongly approved of the inclusion of universal school vouchers, while providing record funding for K-12 public schools.
“We have delivered a remarkable budget that will benefit all Ohioans, especially families, by cutting income and business taxes, and expanding school choice to make vouchers available for every child in the state,” Romanchuk said.
“We have cut income taxes in each budget I have been a part of, and I am pleased we were able to add significant tax relief for businesses this time. This is a great recipe for expanding opportunity and prosperity,” he said.
Romanchuk represents the 22nd Ohio Senate District, which encompasses all of Ashland, Medina, and Richland counties.
The senator praised the move toward a fair and simplified flat tax approach, as the budget reduces the number of state tax brackets to only two over the biennium.
The marginal rates will be 2.75% over $26,050 and 3.5% over $100,000. Ohioans making $26,051 or less pay no income taxes. The budget also adds an extended sales tax holiday in August.
The budget’s historic changes to the Commercial Activity Tax will provide significant tax relief to businesses, according to Romanchuk.
Almost 90% of Ohio’s businesses will no longer have to pay any Commercial Activity Tax.
This reform exempts businesses from paying taxes on the first $3 million of gross receipts in the first year of the budget.
Businesses will not have to pay taxes on the first $6 million of gross receipts In the following year.
The budget makes Ed Choice Scholarships funded by the state universally available to every Ohio student based on a sliding scale of income eligibility.
Families earning 450% of the federal poverty level ($135,000 for a family of four) will qualify for a full scholarship funded by the state. That is $6,165 for K-8 students and $8,407 for high school students.
Scholarships for students in families within incomes above 450% will be means-tested with scholarship amounts adjusted based on their income. Every student in Ohio will be eligible for a scholarship worth at least 10% of the maximum scholarship regardless of income, Romanchuk said.
The budget includes major policy improvements and record funding for K-12 public schools by adding an additional $1.97 billion. That’s a 12.9% increase over the biennium.
Total funding for students in public schools is a record $9.6 billion in fiscal year 2024 and $9.9 billion in fiscal year 2025, totaling nearly $2 billion more for public schools, he said.
