Hearings on Ohio’s tax structure slated at BGSU

BOWLING GREEN, O.--The Select Committee on Tax Reform of the Ways and Means Committee of the Ohio House of Representatives will be in session from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, July 23, in the Pallister Conference Room of Jerome Library at Bowling Green State University.

The committee, chaired by State Rep. Sally Conway Kilbane (R-Rocky River), will hear testimony from invited speakers from 10 a.m. to noon and 1-4 p.m. The public is invited to comment from 4-5 p.m.

The committee is to examine Ohio’s tax structure, as well as identify strengths and weaknesses in Ohio’s tax code and recommend improvements, Kilbane said. Of particular interest to the committee will be income taxes, business taxes and property taxes. Academic experts as well as individual taxpayers will testify.

“We are in the process of reviewing our entire tax system,” explained State Rep. Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green). “As a committee, it is important to gather information from all aspects of the economy. We are looking for ways to improve the economy, which will in turn create prosperity for the citizens of Ohio. Reforming the tax code will encourage economic growth while removing any tax-related impediments that may exist for Ohio’s prosperity.”

Among those testifying will be Dr. Larry Bajor, an assistant professor of accounting and MIS at BGSU; Dr. Beth Walter Honadle, director of the BGSU Center for Policy Analysis and Public Service, and economist Dr. Michael C. Carroll, an assistant professor at the BGSU center. (Posted July 22, 2002)