Could Ohio property taxes be abolished?

VW independent staff/submitted information

COLUMBUS — A proposed constitutional amendment that would ban property taxes in Ohio has taken a step forward.

According to a press release issued on Friday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost accepted the petition title and summary of the proposed constitutional amendment, “Abolishment of Taxes on Real Property.” The Attorney General’s Office received the petition on May 1.

“Having carefully examined this submission, I conclude that the title and summary are fair and truthful statements of the proposed constitutional amendment,” said a response letter sent to the petitioners.

As the next step in the process, the Ohio Ballot Board must determine whether the proposal contains a single constitutional amendment or multiple constitutional amendments. If the board certifies the proposal, the petitioners must then collect signatures from registered voters equal to at least 10 percent of the vote cast in the most recent gubernatorial election. Those signatures must come from voters in at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties, and for each of those counties the number must equal at least five percent of the vote cast in the most recent gubernatorial election.

If sufficient signatures are verified by the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office at least 65 days before the election, the full text of the proposed amendment will be placed on the ballot in the next regular or general election that occurs subsequent to 125 days after the filing of such petition, meaning it could be on the ballot this November or in 2026.