Ohio’s sales tax holiday on back-to-school gear would become permanent, under new bipartisan legislation in the state Senate.
Other recently introduced Senate legislation would change Ohio’s child-support guidelines for the first time since 1992, affecting more than 1 million children statewide.
Under Senate Bill 264, no state or local sales tax would be charged the first weekend of August every year on items of clothing priced at $75 or less. Aprons, diapers, and wedding apparel would be covered under the tax abatement; trade or business items, sports gear, and sewing equipment would not.
School supplies or instructional materials that cost $20 or less would also be sales tax-free during that weekend, under the bill.
Ohio lawmakers set up a one-time back-to-school sales tax holiday last year. State Sen. Kevin Bacon, the Columbus-area Republican who sponsored both last year’s tax holiday and SB 264, said business owners and consumers have both offered praise for last year’s tax recess.
Senate Bill 262 would change the formula used to calculate child support payments – in most cases, raising payments slightly to account for how the cost of living has gone up since 1992.
Under the bill, if a parent or parents have a gross annual income of $60,000, support payments would rise from $8,000 per year to about $9,283 per year for one child, and from $11,529 per year to $13,947 annually for two children.
However, many poorer Ohioans would see their child support payments go down, as the bill factors in higher federal income tax rates and seeks to ensure that payers are able to keep a “self-sufficiency reserve” to live on.
For example, parents with a gross annual income of $30,000 paying support for one child would see their yearly payments fall by about $200 per year.
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