Military Members Screwed by Ohio's Tax Laws

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer.... If you're an Ohioan in the military who is deployed to a noncombat post outside Ohio or abroad, you pay state income tax. If you're a civilian Ohio resident working out of state or overseas, in most cases you don't. That makes no sense to me what-so-ever but then again nothing much does once government gets involved. But there's more..... Two bills exempting Ohio military personnel from state income tax when deployed outside the state have been sitting for most of this year in the Senate Ways and Means Economic Development Committee. House Bill 378, patterned after laws in several other states, exempts service pay from state income tax regardless of where military personnel serve outside Ohio. (A current exemption applies only when serving in a combat zone. The same applies to federal income tax.) Senate Bill 208 offers a similar exemption, but does not include service members deployed outside the state with dependents still living in Ohio. The Senate bill's exclusion would deny the exemption to "many if not most of those personnel who bear the brunt of our war on terror -- Ohioans in the Reserves and National Guard who are deployed around the globe," said Steve Lynch, who is championing the tax-relief cause in Cleveland. Lynch, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who now serves as a government legal assistance attorney for military families, said "Ohio's military families are the only group of Ohio citizens who are routinely taxed when they don't live in the state." According to the article each of these bills were introduced last year yet they've not been passed and till this day continue to collect dust. Here's the kicker, the main obstacle to passage is.... He [Sen Ron Amstutz] noted that the biggest obstacle to passage of either bill is the potential cost in lost income-tax revenue, $20 million to $22 million annually. Other estimates have ranged from $17.4 million to $28.5 million, based on an Ohio Department of Taxation estimate that 40,266 Ohioans served on active duty outside the state in 2005. While Governor Tax and company have increased taxes around the board to the point that Ohio is now #3 in the nation for State-Local tax burdens (I know he has no control over the local portion but our state taxes have increased dramatically to the point that we are now in the top ten if I remember correctly) and the Ohio Senate is bitching about a loss of revenue? Here's a thought: it's not your damn money! Find a way to live within a budget like the rest of us, cut your damn spending for a change. You know, it's one thing for them to complain about revenue when taxing the common folk like me, I understand the liberal mindset and their redistributionist ideology. However it's another thing to bitch about it when they feel the need to steal money from our service men and women overseas. And you know what? I could care less if they're in a combat zone or not as these men and women have sacrificed time from their wives and children in order to serve their country. They've accepted low pay and little recognition in order to keep the rest of us safe. And how does the state senate of Ohio thank them? By sitting on a bill that would exempt them from paying state taxes because it would cost the state money that is not the states in the first place. WTF? We can help get this corrected. If you're in Ohio please send a letter or email to the following address urging them to pass House Bill 378 or 208. Senate Building Room #140, First Floor Columbus, Ohio 43215 Telephone: 614/466-7505 Email: SD22@mailr.sen.state.oh.us H/T's:  Rosemary for the email and Blackfive for the original post.   UPDATE (11.17.06): Bizzyblog has more on the financial impact to Ohio should the bill pass.