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New Ohio Policy Could Change Tax Appeals in Courts

photo of Ohio Supreme Court
DAN KONIK
/
STATEHOUSE NEWS BUREAU

A state budget provision just taking effect would change an 80-year-old policy, requiring those who want to dispute tax decisions go to one of 12 regional appeals courts instead of the Ohio Supreme Court.  

The Ohio Supreme Court’s Director of Public Information, Edward Miller, says the change was requested after a flood of local property tax disputes, when the court’s main role is to rule on big cases involving the constitution.

“A lot of the cases that were coming here were basic disputes over, for example, local mathematic evaluations.”

Miller says that’s better left to regional appeals courts. But former state tax commissioner Tom Zaino says the high court offers a statewide ruling to businesses that can be taxed in different regions.

“They’re spending a lot of money already on legal appeals, and the government is doing the same. And now it’s just going to make it a more expensive process.”

Miller says the high court can still be asked to review appeals courts’ rulings, but Zaino points out that there’s no guarantee the court will hear them.

Karen is a lifelong Ohioan who has served as news director at WCBE-FM, assignment editor/overnight anchor at WBNS-TV, and afternoon drive anchor/assignment editor in WTAM-AM in Cleveland. In addition to her daily reporting for Ohio’s public radio stations, she’s reported for NPR, the BBC, ABC Radio News and other news outlets. She hosts and produces the Statehouse News Bureau’s weekly TV show “The State of Ohio”, which airs on PBS stations statewide. She’s also a frequent guest on WOSU TV’s “Columbus on the Record”, a regular panelist on “The Sound of Ideas” on ideastream in Cleveland, appeared on the inaugural edition of “Face the State” on WBNS-TV and occasionally reports for “PBS Newshour”. She’s often called to moderate debates, including the Columbus Metropolitan Club’s Issue 3/legal marijuana debate and its pre-primary mayoral debate, and the City Club of Cleveland’s US Senate debate in 2012.