The Columbus Dispatch this morning is carrying an article which is saying “after the state Controlling Board last week approved spending $2.56 billion in federal dollars to expand Medicaid for about 275,000 low-income Ohioans, Sen. Chris Widener’s proposal for a 4 % permanent state income-tax cut in Senate Bill 210, introduced last week, instead wants to take the estimated $400 million gained from expanding Medicaid and turn it into the income-tax cut – and it’s getting a cool reception from House GOP leaders.
“The entire Senate GOP leadership team signed on to support the bill, which got its first hearing this week,” the article said. “ Widener, one of the ‘yes’ votes on the board, has touted it as a way to build upon the phased-in 10 percent income-tax cut passed in the two-year budget that took effect in September, saying that by allowing all Ohio taxpayers to directly benefit from the unbudgeted savings is the economically sensible and the right thing to do,”
House Republicans don’t exactly see it that way. House Speaker William G. Batchelder, was attributed as saying he’s still looking for assurances that $400 million is the correct amount, and that, if it is, there are other issues that probably should be addressed first, saying “veterans are not being adequately treated, and the tremendous problems with heroin addiction in this state among the many problems we’d probably should look at before doing a (tax) cut of that size.”.
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