The Buckeye Institute heartily endorses your Sept. 19 editorial, “Time for transparency on the billions that Ohio shells out in special-interest tax breaks.”

In 2011, The Buckeye Institute joined with think tanks from across the ideological spectrum to call for a detailed review of Ohio’s tax loopholes. And The Buckeye Institute praised the General Assembly when it established a modest review committee and testified before that committee before it was subsequently, and unwisely, eliminated.

Given the ongoing growth of tax expenditures — which shift a greater share of the tax burden onto Ohio families and businesses not getting the tax breaks — and the loss of nearly $13 billion in revenue, it is past time for a review committee to be re-established.

While not all tax expenditures should be eliminated, they should all be reviewed to ensure they are accomplishing the goals for which they were created. And closing loopholes —as recommended by The Buckeye Institute — would allow lawmakers to pursue broad-based tax reform benefiting all Ohioans, not merely the well-connected few.

Greg R. Lawson,
Columbus
The writer is a research fellow at The Buckeye Institute.