Voinovich Billion-Dollar Tax Hike Blasted

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - July 25, 1997

When Will They Ever Learn?

You'd think Republicans would have learned a lesson about not raising taxes from George Bush. Not in Ohio. There Republicans, led by Governor George Voinovich, are poised to enact the largest tax increase in the state's history. This despite polls showing the public supports spending cuts over tax increases by three to one. Ohio Democrats can't believe their good fortune.

In 1994, voters handed the GOP control of the governorship, both legislative houses and every statewide office. Since then Republicans have trimmed a proposed tax cut in half and failed to approve a constitutional amendment requiring a vote of the people to raise taxes. Now this week the legislature will vote on a $1.1 billion proposal, raising the state sales tax to 6% from 5% and increasing business property taxes.

The tax increase will be sweetened to attract voters' support when it's put before them as a ballot measure this November. Property taxes on home-owners would go down slightly. Private school parents may be offered a $1,000 per child tax deduction for books and uniforms. Senior citizens will get an increased tax credit on their homes. None of this can disguise the fact that it will be a GOP tax increase.

Leigh Herington, a top-ranking Democratic state senator, wrote a memo telling his party they should oppose the tax increase without even looking at it. "We should find a way not to support their plan and to unveil our plan after they have committed and they are at the point of no return," he wrote last month.

Some Republicans are yelling "Stop!" State Treasurer Ken Blackwell, a potential candidate for governor next year when Mr. Voinovich runs for the Senate, notes that the Legislative Budget Office says the state could save $2.1 billion by freezing the spending of all agencies other than education and prisons. "I don't know why the first solution to the problem has to be picking the pockets of taxpayers," he told us.

The "problem: is this year's 4 to 3 decision by the Ohio Supreme Court declaring that the state's system of funding schools through local property taxes is unconstitutional. Accordingly, a commission headed by Governor Voinovich recommended a new system of "equalized" funding in which poor schools would be brought up to a statewide average of $4,300 per student per year.

The court-ordered push for "equalized" funding ignores the fact that it has never been shown to improve education by itself. Cleveland already spends more than $7,500 a year per pupil, and the results are so poor that Governor Voinovich, to his credit, implemented a pilot voucher program so low-income kids could attend private and parochial schools

In this vein, Arizona Education Superintendent, Lisa Keegan urges "strapping equal education dollars to the child's back," thus providing the ultimate in educational equity. Instead of equal funding for school districts, it would provide equal funding directly to every student. In Arizona, this concept has led to the nation's most innovative and decentralized charter school system

In Ohio, republicans are at the 11^th hour trying to attach some modest education reforms to their tax bill. But there is no way legislators will have time to debate and implement serious reforms between now and August 4.

Opposition to higher taxes that simply throw money at a problem is a unifying element for the Republican coalition. Whenever that's been forgotten the GOP gets into economic and political trouble. Ohio isn't likely to prove the exception.