I have lived and paid taxes in Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio both as an individual and as a business owner. These things I know:
- Ohio has far and away the most byzantine und unnecessarily complicated tax reporting structure I have ever encountered.
- No business owner or entrepreneur makes decisions on where to locate based on tax rates alone.
- As a partner in an Ohio business, I was required to make monthly and/or quarterly reports (and payments) to no fewer than five separate taxing bodies within the state of Ohio.
- Each of these taxing bodies was interested in the same information with only a few minor differences.
One suggestion, Governor, is to give new business startups a three-year running start with no business taxes of any kind during that time. From my own experience, starting a new business usually means doing everything yourself. Tax reporting in Ohio diverts an amazing amount of attention and effort away from where it really needs to be.
Maybe in three years I'll be able to afford to hire an accountant and/or lawyer but until then I have to do it myself. A side effect of DIY tax accounting is mistakes and the fallout from those mistakes. It's really no wonder that so many new business starts last less than three years. How much I pay is important but manageable. How I pay is even more important and is unmanageable. Most new business starts do not go to investment bankers, they are forced to use sweat equity wherein the owner's time is the most important component and the only resource with a hard limit.
Governor, saving those with incomes > $350,000 an additional $10,000 MIGHT help you get reelected but it isn't going to win you very many friends.
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