Ohio Constitution News (OCN) is a blog that tracks developments relating to the Ohio Constitution, including Ohio Supreme Court cases, ballot initiatives, state legislation, lectures, and seminars. The blog also reports on new material added to the Ohio Constitution: Law and History website and other items of interest concerning state constitutional law and the Ohio Constitution. Developed by Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus Steven H. Steinglass and maintained by the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Library, OCN is not affiliated with the Ohio Supreme Court or with the State of Ohio.
Posted in Uncategorized on Apr 30th, 2015
In Hillenmeyer v. Cleveland Bd. of Rev., Slip Opinion No. 2015-Ohio-1623, the Ohio Supreme Court found that: Cleveland’s use of the games-played method violates due process as applied to NFL players such as Hillenmeyer. Under the duty-days method, which provides due process and satisfies Cleveland’s municipal-income-tax ordinance, Hillenmeyer is entitled to a partial refund of […]
Posted in Uncategorized on Jan 30th, 2015
Recently enacted Ohio legislation, H.B. 5, imposes numerous changes on municipal taxes, including: Employers do not have to withhold municipal tax for an employee until the employee has worked 20 days in the municipality (it used to be 12). For municipal tax purposes, companies can carry forward net operating losses for five years to offset […]
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 12th, 2014
The Ohio Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on January 14, 2015 on whether Cleveland’s 2% municipal income tax on professional sports players from visiting teams violates the player’s Equal Protection rights under the U.S. and Ohio Constitutions. See Hillenmeyer v. City of Cleveland Board of Review, Ohio Supreme Court Case No. 2014-0285. The City of […]
Posted in Posts on Oct 21st, 2014
According to a recent Dayton Daily News Article, farmers in Ohio expect bigger tax bills due to: 1) A huge increase in farmland values and 2) A higher tax rate imposed by taxing authorities. Because property values as a whole have decreased, thanks to decreasing residential property values, local taxing authorities must raise rates to […]
Posted in Uncategorized on Apr 1st, 2014
When the Ohio General Assembly exercises its right under the Ohio Constitution to limit municipal taxing authority, it must do so explicitly. The language of a statute prohibiting municipal taxation need not be specific as to the type of tax limited, if the language of the statute explicitly prohibits a broad range of taxes. The case dealt with former […]
Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 19th, 2013
If the county auditor includes the value of a lease in the taxable value of a property, does this violate the Ohio Constitution? The Ohio Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on this issue in HIN, LLC v. Cuyahoga County Board of Revision, the Cuyahoga County Fiscal Officer, and the Bedford Board of Education, Case […]
Posted in Uncategorized on Dec 7th, 2012
Beaver Excavating Company v. Levin, 2012-Ohio-5776, The allocation under R.C. 5751.20 of commercial-activity-tax revenues derived from the gross receipts of the sale of motor-vehicle fuel to nonhighway purposes violates the Ohio Constitution, Article XII, Section 5a.
