By John Hilber / Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi reporting for the Kent State NewsLab-Ohio News Connection Collaboration.
Republicans in the Ohio House of Representatives have introduced legislation that would phase out the state income tax and do away with the commercial activity tax, which is Ohio's main tax on businesses.
House Bill 386 and Senate Bill 327 were introduced in January. Both bills would continually decrease the income tax rate for Ohioans, aiming to eliminate it by 2030.
Bill co-sponsor Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, said this is the second time he has introduced a bill to eliminate Ohio's income tax. The Senate bill is co-sponsored by George Lang (R-West Chester).
The House bill is co-sponsored by Reps. Adam Matthews, R-Lebanon, and Brain Lampton, R-Beavercreek.
"We need to have a leaner government, and the money is better spent by the taxpayers," Huffman said. "Also to be competitive with other states. If a business is going to locate in Ohio, they know their employees are going to get 3-4% less in pay to pay the income tax that they wouldn't have to pay in other states."
Opponents of the bill say the elimination of income tax would cause the state to lose funding for other services that are important to Ohio.
"If you were to eliminate the income tax, if nothing else was done, you would be cutting annual support to local governments, and the public libraries - each of them - by almost $200 million per year," said Zach Schiller, a research director at Policy Matters Ohio. "You would be reducing support for public safety, or everything that cities, villages and townships spend money on."
"This is a wildly irresponsible thing to do," Schiller added.
Eliminating the income and the commercial activity tax would cause a $13 billion deficit, according to the Ohio Capital Journal. The figure is about 15% of Ohio's 2024 fiscal year overall revenue.
"If there's no replacement of revenue with property tax and sales tax, the state will have to cut spending, and the biggest categories of spending for the state are education and Medicaid," said David Brasington, a professor in the department of economics at the University of Cincinnati. "If the revenue is replaced by sales and property tax hikes, that wouldn't necessarily be the case."
Huffman believes the state of Ohio would not see budget shortfalls during the process of phasing out income tax, in part because the state has a large rainy day fund.
"I also think that there would certainly be a better business environment," Huffman said. "To be able to bring businesses to Ohio because we have less of a tax structure, but also as retailers - people will have more money to circulate through the economy to buy goods and services."
But Schiller said Ohio has cut income taxes in the past, and it hasn't yielded the results that Huffman hopes for.
"We've reduced, especially, the rates that upper-income Ohioans pay, we've created a business income deduction for business owners, and where has this gotten us?" Schiller said. "Our median household income still trails the national average; our job growth has trailed the national average. Ohio's economy has not, in fact, met national averages despite almost 20 years of income tax cuts."
The current state income tax ranges from 2.75 to 3.75%, with households making less than $26,050 having a 0% tax rate.
The median Ohio household earns $66,990 per year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Under the current tax code, that household would pay up to $1,842.23 in Ohio income taxes.
Opponents of the bill fear that a further income tax cut would result in the wealthiest Ohioans paying less in taxes.
"Anytime you cut income taxes, it is going to disproportionately benefit the higher income people, because they're the only ones that pay an income tax," Brasington said.
In addition to the income tax being cut, the bill would also eliminate the commercial activity tax (CAT) for businesses in Ohio, which is a tax on what businesses sell. The CAT applies only to companies that have over $150,000 in sales. Only about 10% of Ohio businesses pay the CAT.
"Small businesses do not pay the tax," Schiller said. "If we eliminate it, we're basically saying the biggest companies in Ohio don't need to pay business tax."
Brasington pointed out that if Ohio were to eliminate the income tax, Ohio would be the only state in the region to be without it, which could make the state more attractive for businesses.
He also said that more wealthy individuals are sensitive to tax changes, meaning that if Ohio eliminates income tax, it could influence more wealthy people to move to Ohio - which could in turn aid in the creation or expansion of businesses.
"What people want is the level of services and types of services they like, but they want it done without waste at the lowest possible tax rate that you can get," Brasington said. "So if you just cut taxes, then it will favor certain people and certain businesses, and they will be drawn [to Ohio]. But certain people and businesses may be pushed away if those cuts and taxes are also accompanied by a decrease in services."
If the legislation passes, Ohio would become the tenth state in the U.S. to eliminate the state income tax.
"I think that it will make it that much less likely that we'll have a state with well educated, healthy residents with a full range of opportunities," Schiller said. "We'll have a much more unbalanced tax system that is both unable to meet the needs of Ohioans and shifts much of the cost to low- and middle-income people. It will be much harder for Ohioans to live the happy, productive lives that we all would like."
The House and Senate versions of the bill are currently before each chamber's Ways and Means Committee.
This collaboration is produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.
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By Ramona Schindelheim for WorkingNation.
Broadcast version by Mark Richardson for Virginia News Connection reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Collaboration
As a mathematician who solves problems, Dr. Bourama Toni is looking to make sure young people from underserved backgrounds have access to careers in the data economy.
“Data analytics and data science are in demand. People who are left out in math will also be left out in anything related to math, which will be very unfortunate,” says Toni, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Mathematics at Howard University. Data analysts and data scientists require different skills and the job outlook for both occupations is strong.
Hiring for data analysts is expected to grow 23% in the decade between 2023 and 2033, with a median salary of $83,640. A bachelor’s degree is usually required. The demand for data scientists is even higher and is expected to grow 36% in the same time period with a median salary of $108,020, with at least a bachelor’s degree.
Diversity in these fields is not. For example, it’s estimated only 4% of data scientists are Black.
That is why Howard University, the nonprofit National Education Equity Lab, and Google partnered to offer a year-long data analytics course to students from Title I high schools which have high rates of poverty. A large percentage of the population are students of color.
The program is introducing more high school students to the potential career by allowing them to take college courses and earn an industry certificate at no cost. Training consists of teacher-led online courses at their high schools, with teaching fellows offering instruction and serving as mentors in the classroom at participating schools.
Making Equity Part of the Data Economy Equation
With opportunities in the field growing, the National Education Equity Lab is working to ensure that students from historically underrepresented communities aren’t left out. The Data Analytics program that started in the fall of 2024 is part of the organization’s mission to advance economic and social mobility for the students it serves.
“We were founded on the belief, and the reality, that talent is evenly distributed in our nation, but that opportunity is not. And, as an organization, we were created to help change that,” say Laura Moore, chief higher education officer at the organization.
“We see this as being a really powerful way to not only expose our scholars to that field, but give them the tools and resources they need to be active participants and leaders in that field, if they so choose,” adds Moore.
In the five years since the organization was started, it’s partnered with more than one dozen universities and others, and counts 33,000 high school students served with 80% of them passing college courses and getting credits for them, according to Moore.
Gaining a Google Data Analytics Certificate
While it’s worked with Howard University on several programs offering college credits to high school students in subjects including college algebra, what is different about this data analytics program is that students can also earn a Google Data Analytics certificate along with six credits.
“We see the addition of this certified, industry-recognized career credential to be a really powerful tool that students have in their toolbox. It really just opens up additional opportunities for them whatever their path is after high school,” explains Moore.
Easing Student Debt
Some 226 high school students from around the country are enrolled in the Data Analytics program. One of those schools is the Columbia Heights Education Campus, a public school in Washington D.C., serving roughly 1,600 students.
“We pride ourselves on providing accessibility to all students who express interest in learning. We provide a rigorous curriculum for those students,” says Wendy Pugh, assistant principal at the school and a co-teacher for the program.
Eighteen students in the school are enrolled. Pugh says she is pleased with the result from the first semester. “I would say 90% of those students have received an A, so it just proves that when given access and support our students can perform with that level of rigor,” stresses Pugh.
She sees that the program is valuable in financially, too. “One of our biggest challenges overall is students being able to afford higher-level education.
“One of the biggest motivators for me, and my co-teacher, was just having the opportunity to provide these college-level courses for free for our students. Overall, it reduces the amount of debt one will have going to the next level,” adds Pugh.
That next level offers a different option than a four-year degree with the Google Data Analytics degree.
Providing an Additional Option
“Because they’re coming from low-income families, some of them may not be interested in pursuing any degree. That’s also okay. I understand perfectly the pressure of the family, saying, ‘look, you finished high school, why don’t you get a job?’ So if we can give them that option as well, it’s great,” explains Howard University’s Toni.
Among the steps taken to prepare students to be more marketable, he says, was to change the syllabus from learning Python to RStudio.
Should students choose to enter the workforce after graduating high school and the year-long data analytics program, he explains they can apply for entry level jobs to any company using data.
The Google program also works with employers interested in hiring students who’ve earned the Google certificates.
The average base salary for an entry level data analyst, according to Indeed, is $22.49 an hour.
Math = Motivation and Confidence
While the college credits and data industry certificate give these students an advantage leaving high school, the other thing the program seeks to do is far more personal.
“What we’re trying to do in the program is to build confidence. They do not have that confidence because of their background,” Toni explains. “This is a major part of the work we try to do to tell them you can do it.”
That lack of confidence, he says, is due in large part to the way students were taught math. He came to that conclusion after witnessing students fail in college algebra courses offered to Title I high schools.
“The frustrating side of it: It’s just motivation. They have the skill,” adds Toni. He firmly believes that if students are taught how math is applied to everyday life and jobs, they will succeed. “You just need to understand why you need it, why you’re doing it, why it’s useful.”
He aims to increase enrollment in the program next fall in hopes of reaching more underserved students to change the way they approach math and see how it’s tied to good-paying jobs that are in-demand.
“The key thing is: how do I motive anyone that math and the related fields of data science, artificial intelligence, data analytics and computer science, that if you feel comfortable in math, you don’t have to worry about performing in any of these fields.”
Ramona Schindelheim wrote this article for WorkingNation.
Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.
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Since 2021, union elections in Maryland and across the country have more than doubled - and union election wins are at a 15-year high.
But President Donald Trump's administration is seen as taking action to weaken labor laws.
The National Labor Relations Board, which rules on labor practices and elections, was one target. Just days into his term, Trump fired its head, Gwynne Wilcox, a Biden appointee.
Margaret Poydock, a senior policy analyst with the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute, said this doesn't bode well for organized labor.
"There will still be organizing, but unions and workers may be hesitant to bring cases to the NLRB," said Poydock. "President Trump has made it clear that he expects members to rule in favor of employers."
A federal judge ruled earlier this month that Wilcox must be reinstated at the NLRB, but Trump administration attorneys appealed the decision.
Despite the stance of the Trump administration, unions remain extremely popular among the general public. A Gallup poll in 2024 found that 70% of Americans view unions favorably.
That's up from a low of 48% in 2009. Poydock said support for unions from the general public - even those who don't belong to a union - is key to keeping momentum strong.
"Public solidarity helps support unions, when they're trying to win a union contract or when their employer violates labor law," said Poydock. "So public support is key in the mix of union organizing right now."
In 2024, Maryland workers held 54 union elections. Notably, workers at a string of marijuana dispensaries voted to unionize.
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Professors on college campuses across the country are unionizing at increasingly higher rates and a bill in the Maryland General Assembly may help the efforts at state universities.
The legislation would give faculty at Morgan State University, St. Mary's College of Maryland, and faculty in the University of Maryland system the right to form a union. Another bill would also offer collective bargaining rights to graduate assistants at Maryland universities.
Del. Linda Foley, D-Montgomery, said the legislation would give teachers at each university the freedom to decide.
"If they desire and they vote for a union representative to represent them, then they can bargain a contract with their employer," Foley explained.
The bill includes full-time or part-time faculty, and those who are either on tenure or non-tenure tracks. Foley added faculty at Maryland community colleges are already able to organize unions.
Since 2012, the number of unionized faculty across the country has grown more than 7%, with more than a quarter of all faculty belonging to a union. More than 80% of unionized college faculty members are nontenured. Foley, a former vice president of the Communications Workers of America, said despite perceptions, unions are not just for blue collar workers.
"Just because they're not doing manual labor or you know working in a sweatshop so to speak, doesn't mean that workers don't have rights to collective bargaining or that collective bargaining isn't meaningful," Foley emphasized. "It certainly is, because there are many, many issues that collective bargaining can address."
She added workers could benefit from negotiating with an employer about hours, wages and working conditions which would otherwise be more difficult without a union.
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