Muni tax cleanup bill signed into law

OSCPA staff report

Gov. Mike DeWine on Nov. 8, signed into law House Bill 228, an OSCPA-backed measure that will update the centralized collection process for municipal net profits taxes.

The bill’s lead sponsor, State Rep. Bill Roemer, CPA, R-Richfield, provided key leadership throughout the process.

The bill’s passage will prove especially helpful to taxpayers, OSCPA Tax Policy Director Greg Saul, CAE, Esq., said this fall in proponent testimony, as it will:

1. Extend the date that a taxpayer may opt in or out of the state-administered tax from the first day of the third month after the beginning of the taxpayer’s fiscal year to the 15th day of the fourth month of that year – April 15 for calendar year-end businesses

2. Require the state – rather than the taxpayer – to notify cities when a taxpayer has opted in or out. 

The bill also allows pass-through entities to deduct pensions or benefits paid to retirees for municipal tax purposes.

H.B. 228 also codifies a portal established by the Ohio Department of Taxation to exchange information with municipalities, including notifying municipalities through the portal when taxpayers have opted in or out of paying the municipal tax via ODT.