“It is simply mistaken:” Hamilton County Auditor Leads Earnings Tax Proceedings In opposition to Cincinnati

Cincinnati (WXIX) – Hamilton County’s chartered accountant Dusty Rhodes says to stop the city of Cincinnati from collecting income taxes from non-citizens and ensure refunds that could put millions back in their pockets. Leading a new legal challenge for the City of Cincinnati.

County-elected financial watchers Rhodes and taxpayers Brandy Fitch and Thomas Hahn filed a case against the city, its tax officer and income tax commissioner in Hamilton County’s Common Pleia Court on Thursday. It was.

Income taxes fund most of Ohio’s largest city budgets, and Cincinnati is no exception. Taxes can usually only be levied on people who work in the urban area.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed everything. The General Assembly passed a law that allows cities to collect their taxes from non-urban residents who work from home.

But Hamilton County’s accountants for the past three decades say it’s wrong whether it’s a pandemic or not.

“That sets a bad precedent,” he said.

He has long been against income taxes for non-urban residents and participated in a final unsuccessful attempt in the 1980s due to a constitutional amendment against the practice.

“I pay 80% of my taxes where I spend 25% or less of the week, but that’s wrong. That is, these cities are with people who have no say in their actions. That’s the problem because I’m alive. It’s taxation without an agent, it’s just a “pitfall” game. If you get a job, you have it. “

Hamilton County’s chartered accountant Dusty Rhodes is launching a new legal challenge against the city of Cincinnati to recover income tax from potentially millions of non-residents paid during the coronavirus pandemic. ..(FOX19 NOW)

Rhodes of Delhi Township was the township trustee for 20 years before being elected district auditor. The municipality does not levy any income tax.

“I know I have a hard time creating and servicing budgets, but these cities have been fat by non-residents since the law was passed in 1946,” he said. Told.

The trial alleges that the city of Cincinnati is in violation of its own city laws, and Rhodes lawyers and taxpayers have filed a number of similar cases across the state against metropolitan areas, including Queen City. He claims to have set up this procedure separately.

The city ordinances explicitly state that non-residents are only charged income tax if the work is physically performed in the city itself. The city ignores its own laws. We just want them to apply the laws they passed, ”said attorney Curt Hartman.

“We’re just trying to enforce the law, which could result in a refund of millions of dollars illegally stolen from citizens of the City of Cincinnati.”

The Buckeye Institute, an independent free market think tank, sued the cities of Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus, and Cincinnati last year.

The Cincinnati case, filed in February, was dismissed on June 16 by Judge Chris Wagner of the Hamilton County Common Preas, court records show. The Buckeye Institute appealed in the Cincinnati First District Court of Appeals on Tuesday.

The Columbus case, filed in July 2020, was dismissed by a Franklin County judge and is currently on trial in the 10th District Court of Appeals.

The other two proceedings are still pending.

City guides, including Cincinnati, oppose returning income tax revenue to non-city residents who worked from home during a pandemic. It costs them millions of income.

The Cincinnati income tax rate is 1.8% of the total income of residents, non-residents who work in the city, and businesses in the city.

Prices in Cincinnati are lower than most of the other major cities in the state. Columbus and Cleveland are 2.5% and Dayton is 2.25%.

And like cities across the country and Ohio, Cincinnati experienced a sharp drop in income tax revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic and took swift action to close its budget deficit while maintaining essential core services. I had to.

Meanwhile, measures allowing the city to collect income tax from non-citizens expire on July 18.

Once that’s done, the employer must withhold Ohio City income tax from wages based on the employee’s actual place of work, unless extended.

Mr. Hartman said, “Don’t replace the city ordinance. As part of its autonomy, the General Assembly has the power to limit the taxation rights of local governments. They expanded it, and the city expanded it. They never changed their own city code accordingly. “

Legislators are currently considering a law that would allow commuters to claim a refund of income tax paid.

We have requested comments from Mayor John Cranley, his spokeswoman, the mayor, and other city officials.

FOX19NOW updates this story.

Procedure can be found Here..

You can find restraining orders filed by Rhodes and other plaintiffs Here..

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“It’s just wrong:” Hamilton County auditor leads income tax litigation against Cincinnati

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